PRINCE    RUPERT, 

First  Governor. 


JAMES,    DUKE    OF   YORK, 

Second  Governor. 


LORD  CHURCHILL,  afterwards 

DUKE    OF   MARLBOROUGH, 

Third  Governor. 


LORD    STRATHCONA   AND 
MOUNT   ROYAL, 

Present  Governor. 


FOUR  GREAT  GOVERNORS  OF  THE  HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY. 


[  Frontispiece. 


THE    REMARKABLE    HISTORY 

OF   THE 

HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY 

INCLUDING    THAT    OF 

The  French  Traders  of  N orth-W estern  Canada 

and  of  the  North-West,  XY,  and 

Astor  Fur  Companies 


BY 
GEORGE   BRYCE,   M.A.,   LL.D. 


PROFESSOR     IN     MANITOBA     COLLEGE,    WINNIPEG  J     D^L^Gufi     REGIONAL     DE     L'ALLIANCE 

SCIENTIFIQUE  DE  PARIS  ;  MEMBER  OF  GENERAL  COMMITTEE  OF  BRITISH  ASSOCIATION  ; 

FELLOW  OF  AMERICAN  ASSOCIATION  FOR  ADVANCEMENT  OF  SCIENCE  ;    PRESIDENT 

ROYAL     SOCIETY     OF     CANADA     (1909)  ;      MEMBER     OF     THE     COMMISSION     ON 

CANADIAN    RESOURCES    (1909)  ;    MEMBER  OF  THE  ROYAL    COMMISSION  ON 

TECHNICAL    EDUCATION    (igio)  J    AUTHOR    OF    "MANITOBA"   (1882)  J 

"SHORT  HISTORY  OF  CANADIAN   PEOPLE"  (1887),  MAKERS  OF 

CANADA    SERIES    (.MACKENZIE,    SELKIRK    AND    SIMPSON)  J 

"  ROMANTIC  SETTLEMENT  OF  LORD  SELKIRK'S  COLONISTS  " 

(1909);  "CANADA"  IN  WINSOR'S  NAR.  AND  CRIT. 

HIST.    OF   AMERICA,    ETC.,    ETC. 


THIRD   EDITION 


. 

•  •*  •    •*•*•*•  I  i   " 

WITH      NUMEROUS     FULL-PAGE     ILLUSTRATIONS     AND     MAPS 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 


PREFACE 

THE  Hudson's  Bay  Company  !  What  a  record  this  name 
represents  of  British  pluck  and  daring,  of  patient  industry  and 
hardy  endurance,  of  wild  adventure  among  savage  Indian 
tribes,  and  of  exposure  to  danger  by  mountain,  precipice,  and 
seething  torrent  and  wintry  plain  ! 

In  two  full  centuries  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  under  its 
original  Charter,  undertook  financial  enterprises  of  the  greatest 
magnitude,  promoted  exploration  and  discovery,  governed  a 
vast  domain  in  the  northern  part  of  the  American  Continent, 
and  preserved  to  the  British  Empire  the  wide  territory  handed 
over  to  Canada  in  1870.  For  nearly  a  generation  since  that 
time  the  veteran  Company  has  carried  on  successful  trade 
in  competition  with  many  rivals,  and  has  shown  the  vigour 
of  youth. 

The  present  History  includes  not  only  the  record  of  the 
remarkable  exploits  of  this  well-known  Company,  but  also  the 
accounts  of  the  daring  French  soldiers  and  explorers  who 
disputed  the  claim  of  the  Company  in  the  seventeenth  century, 
and  in  the  eighteenth  century  actually  surpassed  the  English 
adventurers  in  penetrating  the  vast  interior  of  Rupert's  Land. 

Special  attention  is  given  in  this  work  to  the  picturesque 
history  of  what  was  the  greatest  rival  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  viz.  the  North- West  Fur  Company  of  Montreal,  as 
well  as  to  the  extraordinary  spirit  of  the  X  Y  Company  and 
the  Astor  Fur  Company  of  New  York. 


vi  PREFACE 

A  leading  feature  of  this  book  is  the  adequate  treatment  for 
the  first  time  of  the  history  of  the  well-nigh  eighty  years  just 
closing,  from  the  union  of  all  the  fur  traders  of  British  North 
America  under  the  name  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  This 
period,  beginning  with  the  career  of  the  Emperor-Governor, 
Sir  George  Simpson  (1821),  and  covering  the  life,  adventure, 
conflicts,  trade,  and  development  of  the  vast  region  stretching 
from  Labrador  to  Vancouver  Island,  and  north  to  the 
Mackenzie  River  and  the  Yukon,  down  to  the  present  year, 
is  the  most  important  part  of  the  Company's  history. 

For  the  task  thus  undertaken  the  author  is  well  fitted.  He 
has  had  special  opportunities  for  becoming  acquainted  with  the 
history,  position,  and  inner  life  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 
He  has  lived  for  nearly  thirty  years  in  Winnipeg,  for  the  whole 
of  that  time  in  sight  of  Fort  Garry,  the  fur  traders'  capital,  or 
what  remains  of  it ;  he  has  visited  many  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company's  posts  from  Fort  William  to  Victoria,  in  the  Lake 
Superior  and  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  region,  in  Manitoba, 
Assiniboia,  Alberta,  and  British  Columbia  ;  in  those  districts 
he  has  run  the  rapids,  crossed  the  portages,  surveyed  the  ruins 
of  old  forts,  and  fixed  the  localities  of  long-forgotten  posts  ;  he 
is  acquainted  with  a  large  number  of  the  officers  of  the  Com- 
pany, has  enjoyed  their  hospitality,  read  their  journals,  and 
listened  with  interest  to  their  tales  of  adventure  in  many 
out-of-the-way  posts  ;  he  is  a  lover  of  the  romance,  and  story, 
and  tradition  of  the  fur  traders'  past. 

The  writer  has  had  full  means  of  examining  documents, 
letters,  journals,  business  records,  heirlooms,  and  archives  of 
the  fur  traders  both  in  Great  Britain  and  Canada.  He  returns 
thanks  to  the  custodians  of  many  valuable  originals,  which  he 
has  used,  to  the  Governor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
in  1881,  Right  Hon.  G.  J.  Goschen,  who  granted  him  the 
privilege  of  consulting  all  Hudson's  Bay  Company  records  up 
to  the  date  of  1821,  and  he  desires  to  still  more  warmly 


PREFACE 


VII 


acknowledge  the  permission  given  him  by  the  distinguished 
patron  of  literature  and  education,  the  present  Governor  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  Lord  Strathcona  and  Mount  Royal, 
to  read  any  documents  of  public  importance  in  the  Hudson's 
Bay  House  in  London.  This  unusual  opportunity  granted  the 
author  was  largely  used  by  him  in  1896  and  again  in  1899. 

Taking  the  advice  of  his  publishers,  the  author,  instead  of 
publishing  several  volumes  of  annals  of  the  Company,  has 
condensed  the  important  features  of  the  history  into  one  fair- 
sized  volume,  but  has  given  in  an  Appendix  references  and 
authorities  which  may  afford  the  reader,  who  desires  more 
detailed  information  on  special  periods,  the  sources  of  know- 
ledge for  fuller  research. 


PREFACE 

TO   THE   THIRD    EDITION 

THE  favor  which  has  been  shown  to  the  "  Remarkable  History 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  "  has  resulted  in  a  large 
measure  from  its  being  written  by  a  native-born  Canadian, 
who  is  familiar  with  much  of  the  ground  over  which  the 
Company  for  two  hundred  years  held  sway. 

A  number  of  corrections  have  been  made  and  the  book 
has  been  brought  up  to  date  for  this  Edition. 

It  has  been  a  pleasure  to  the  Author,  who  has  expressed 
himself  without  fear  or  favor  regarding  the  Company  men  and 
their  opponents,  that  he  has  received  from  the  greater  number 
of  his  readers  commendations  for  his  fairness  and  insight 
into  the  affairs  of  the  Company  and  its  wonderful  history. 

GEORGE  BRYCE. 
KILMADOCK,  WINNIPEG, 

August  19,  1910. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER    I 

THE   FIRST  VOYAGE  FOR  TRADE. 

Famous  Companies — "  The  old  lady  of  Fenchurch  J^treet  " 

The  first  voyage— Radisson  and  Groseilliers— Spurious 
claim  of  the  French  of  having  reached  the  Bay—"  Journal 
published  by  Prince  Society  " — The  claim  invalid — Early 
voyages  of  Radisson — The  Frenchmen  go  to  Boston — Cross 
over  to  England — Help  from  Royalty — Fiery  Rupert — The 
King  a  stockholder — Many  hitherto  unpublished  facts — 
Capt.  Zachariah  Gillam — Charles  Fort  built  on  Rupert 
River — The  founder's  fame  •••...! 

CHAPTER   II. 
HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY  FOUNDED. 

Royal  charters — Good  Queen  Bess — "  So  miserable  a  wilder- 
ness " — Courtly  stockholders — Correct  spelling — "  The 
nonsense  of  the  Charters  " — Mighty  rivers — Lords  of  the 
territory — To  execute  justice — War  on  infidels — Power  to 
seize — "  Skin  for  skin  " — Friends  of  the  Red  man  .  .  12 

CHAPTER   III. 

METHODS   OF  TRADE. 

Rich  Mr.  Portman — Good  ship  Prince  Rupert — The  early  adven- 
turers— "  Book  of  Common  Prayer  " — Five  forts — Voting  a 
funeral — Worth  of  a  beaver — To  Hudson  Bay  and  back 
— Selling  the  pelts — Bottles  of  sack — Fat  dividends — 
"  Victorious  as  C^sar  "— "  Golden  Fruit  "  ...  20 

CHAPTER   IV. 

THREE   GREAT  GOVERNORS. 

Men    of    high    station — Prince   Rupert   primus— Prince   James/ 
"  nemine  contradicente  " — The  hero  of  the  hour— Churchill 
River  named— Plate  of  solid  gold— Off  to  the  tower    .         .       27 


xii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   V. 

TWO   ADROIT  ADVENTURERS.  PA(JB 

Peter  Radisson  and  "  Mr.  Gooseberry "  again — Radisson  v. 
Gillam — Back  to  France — A  wife's  influence — Paltry  vessels 
— Radisson's  diplomacy — Deserts  to  England — Shameful 
duplicity — "  A  hogshead  of  claret  " — Adventurers  appre- 
ciative— Twenty-five  years  of  Radisson's  life  hitherto  un- 
known— "  In  a  low  and  mean  condition  " — The  Company  in 
Chancery — Lucky  Radisson — A  Company  pensioner  .  .  33 

CHAPTER    VI. 

FRENCH  RIVALRY.  L/ 

The  golden  lilies  in  danger — "  To  arrest  Radisson  " — The  land 
called  "  Unknown  " — A  chain  of  claim — Imaginary  preten- 
sions— Chevalier  de  Troyes — The  brave  Lemoynes — Hudson 
Bay  forts  captured — A  litigious  governor — Laugh  at  treaties 
— The  glory  of  France — Enormous  claims — Consequential 

47 


CHAPTER    VII. 

RYSWICK   AND   UTRECHT. 

The  "  Grand  Monarque  "  humbled — Caught  napping — The  Com- 
pany in  peril — Glorious  Utrecht — Forts  restored — Damages 
to  be  considered — Commission  useless  ....  56 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

DREAM   OF  A   NORTH-WEST  PASSAGED 

Stock  rises — Jealousy  aroused — Arthur  Dobbs,/ Esq. — An  in- 
genious attack — Appeal  to  the  "  Old  Worthies  " — Captain 
Christopher  Middleton — Was  the  Company  in  earnest  ? 
The  sloop  Furnace — Dobbs'  fierce  attack — The  great  sub- 
scription— Independent  expedition — "  Henry  Ellis,  gentle- 
man " — "  Without  success  " — Dobbs'  real  purpose  .  .  61 

CHAPTER    IX. 

THE   INTERESTING   BLUE-BOOK  OF    1749. 

"  Le  roi  est  mort  " — Royalty  unfavourable — Earl  of  Halifax — 
"  Company  asleep  " — Petition  to  Parliament — Neglected 
discovery — Timidity  or  caution — Strong  "  Prince  of  Wales  " 
— Increase  of  stock — A  timid  witness — Claims  of  discovery 
— To  make  Indians  Christians — Charge  of  disloyalty — New 
Company  promises  largely — Result  nil  ...  70 


CONTENTS  xiii 

CHAPTER   X. 

FRENCH   CANADIANS   EXPLORE   THE  INTERIOR.  PAQE 

The  "Western  Sea  "—Ardent  Duluth— "  Kaministiquia  "— 
Indian  boasting— Pere  Charlevoix— Father  Gonor— The 

man  of    the    hour  : — Verendrye — Indian    map-maker The 

North  Shore— A  line  of  forts — The  Assiniboine  country— A 
notable  manuscript — A  marvellous  journey — Glory,  but  not 
wealth — Post  of  the  Western  Sea 73 

CHAPTER    XI. 

THE   SCOTTISH   MERCHANTS   OF  MONTREAL/* 

Unyielding  old  Cadot — Competition— The  enterprising  Henry 
— Leads  the  way — Thomas  Curry — The  elder  Finlay — 
Plundering  Indians — Grand  Portage — A  famous  mart — 
The  plucky  Frobishers — The  Sleeping  Giant  aroused — Fort 
Cumberland — Churchill  River— Indian  rising— The  deadly 
smallpox — The  whites  saved 92 

CHAPTER    XII. 

DISCOVERY   OF  THE   COPPERMINE. 

Samuel  Hearne — "  The  Mungo  Park  of  Canada  " — Perouse  <-~~ 
complains — The  North- West  Passage — Indian  guides — Two 
failures — Third  journey  successful — Smokes  the  calumet — 
Discovers  Arctic  Ocean — Cruelty  to  the  Eskimos — Error  in 
latitude — Remarkable  Indian  woman — Capture  of  Prince 
of  Wales  Fort — Criticism  by  Umfreville  .  .  .  .100 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

FORTS   ON   HUDSON   BAY   LEFT  BEHIND. 

Andrew  Graham's  "  Memo."— Prince  of  Wales  Fort — The  garri- 
son— Trade — York  Factory — Furs — Albany — Subordinate 
forts— Moose — Moses  Norton — Cumberland  House— Upper 
Assiniboine — Rainy  Lake — Brandon  House — Red  River — 
Conflict  of  the  Companies 109 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

THE  NORTH-WEST   COMPANY  FORMED.     ^ 

Hudson's  Bay  Company  aggressive — The  great  McTavish — The 
Frobishers — Pond  and  Pangman  dissatisfied — Gregory  and 
McLeod — Strength  of  the  North-West  Company— Vessels 
to  be  built — New  route  from  Lake  Superior  sought — Good 
will  at  times— Bloody  Pond— Wider  union,  1787— Fort 
Alexandria — Mouth  of  the  Souris— Enormous  fur  trade— 
Wealthy  Nor' -Westers—"  The  Haunted  House  "  .  .  116 


xiv  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER    XV. 

VOYAGES   OF  SIR  ALEXANDER  MACKENZIE.  PAOH 

A  young  Highlander — To  rival  Hearne — Fort  Chipewyan  built 
— French  Canadian  voyageurs — Trader  Leroux — Perils  of 
the  route — Post  erected  on  Arctic  Coast — Return  journey 
— Pond's  miscalculations — Hudson  Bay  Turner — Roderick 
McKenzie's  hospitality — Alexander  Mackenzie — Astronomy 
and  mathematics — Winters  on  Peace  River — Terrific  journey 
— The  Pacific  Slope — Dangerous  Indians — Pacific  Ocean, 
1793 — North- West  Passage  by  land — Great  achievement — 
A  notable  book 124 

CHAPTER    XVI. 

THE   GREAT   EXPLORATION. 

Grand  Portage  on  American  soil — Anxiety  about  the  boundary — 
David  Thompson,  astronomer  and  surveyor — His  instruc- 
tions— By  swift  canoe — The  land  of  beaver — A  dash  to  the 
Mandans — Stone  Indian  House — Fixes  the  boundary  at 
Pembina — Sources  of  the  Mississippi — A  marvellous  explorer 
— Pacific  Slope  explored — Thompson  down  the  Kootenay 
and  Columbia — Fiery  Simon  Fraser  in  New  Caledonia — 
Discovers  Fraser  River — Sturdy  John  Stuart — Thompson 
River — Bourgeois  Quesnel — Transcontinental  expeditions  .  133 

CHAPTER    XVII. 

THE   X   Y   COMPANY. 

"  Le  Marquis  "  Simon  McTavish  unpopular — Alexander  Mac 
kenzie,  his  rival — Enormous  activity  of  the  "  Potties  " — 
Why  called  X  Y — Five  rival  posts  at  Souris — Sir  Alexander, 
the  silent  partner — Old  Lion  of  Montreal  roused — "  Posts 
of  the  King  " — Schooner  sent  to  Hudson  Bay — Nor'-Westers 
erect  two  posts  on  Hudson  Bay — Supreme  folly — Old  and 
new  Nor'-Westers  unite — List  of  partners  ....  148 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 

THE  LORDS  OF  THE  LAKES  AND  FORESTS. — I. 

New  route  to  Kaministiquia — Vivid  sketch  of  Fort  William — 
"  Cantine  Salope  " — Lively  Christmas  week — The  feasting 
partners — Ex-Governor  Masson's  good  work — Four  great 
Mackenzies — A  literary  bourgeois — Three  handsome  de- 
moiselles— "  The  man  in  the  moon " — Story  of  "  Bras 
Croche  " — Around  Cape  Horn — Astoria  taken  over — A  hot- 
headed trader — Sad  case  of  "  Little  Labrie  " — Punch  on 
New  Year's  Day — The  heart  of  a  "  vacher  "  ,  .  .  .  155 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

THE  LORDS  OF  THE  LAKES  AND  FORESTS. — H. 

Harmon  and  his  book — An  honest  man — "  Straight  as  an  arrow  " 
— New  views — An  uncouth  giant — "  Gaelic,  English,  French, 


CONTENTS  xv 

and  Indian  oaths  "— McDonell,  "  Le  Pretre  "—St.  Andrew's    PA«E 
Day—"  Fathoms  of  tobacco  "—Down  the  Assiniboine— An 
entertaining  journal — A  good  editor— A  too  frank  trader 
— "Gun  fire  ten  yards  away" — Herds  of  buffalo — Packs 
and  pemmican — "  The  fourth  Gospel  " — Drowning  of  Henry 

— "  The    weather    cleared    up " — Lost    for    forty    days 

"  Cheepe,"     the    corpse — Larocque    and    the    Mandans — 
McKenzie  and  his  half-breed  children 166 

CHAPTER    XX. 

THE   LORDS   OF  THE   LAKES   AND   FORESTS. — HI. 

Dashing  French  trader — "  The  country  of  fashion  " — An  air  of 
great  superiority — The  road  is  that  of  heaven— Enough  to 
intimidate  a  Caesar — "  The  Bear  "  and  the  "  Little  Branch  " 
—Yet  more  rum — A  great  Irishman — "  In  the  wigwam  of 
Wabogish  dwelt  his  beautiful  daughter  " — Wedge  of  gold — 
Johnston  and  Henry  Schoolcraft — Duncan  Cameron  on 
Lake  Superior — His  views  of  trade — Peter  Grant,  the  ready 
writer — Paddling  the  canoe — Indian  folk-lore— Chippewa 
burials — Remarkable  men  and  great  financiers,  marvellous 
explorers,  facile  traders  ....  ...  178 

CHAPTER   XXI. 

THE  IMPULSE  OF  UNION. 

North- West  and  X  Y  Companies  unite — Recalls  the  Homeric 
period — Feuds  forgotten — Men  perform  prodigies — The 
new  fort  re-christened — Vessel  from  Michilimackinac — The 
old  canal — Wills  builds  Fort  Gibraltar — A  lordly  sway— 
The  "  Beaver  Club  " — Sumptuous  table — Exclusive  society 
— "  Fortitude  in  Distress " — Political  leaders  in  Lower 
Canada 189 

CHAPTER   XXII. 

THE   ASTOR  FUR   COMPANY. 

Old  John  Jacob  Astor — American  Fur  Company — The  Missouri 
Company — A  line  of  posts — Approaches  the  Russians — 
Negotiates  with  Nor' -Westers — Fails — Four  North- West 
officials  join  Astor — Songs  of  the  voyageurs — True 
Britishers — Voyage  of  the  Tonquin — Rollicking  Nor'- 
Westers  in  Sandwich  Islands — Astoria  built — David  Thomp- 
son appears — Terrible  end  of  the  Tonquin— Astor's  overland 
expedition — Washington  Irving's  "  Astoria,  a  romance  " — 
The  Beaver  rounds  the  Cape— McDougall  and  his  small-pox 
phial — The  Beaver  sails  for  Canton 193 

CHAPTER   XXIII. 

LORD  SELKIRK'S  COLONY. 

Alexander  Mackenzie's  book— Lord  Selkirk  interested— Emigra- 
tion a  boon — Writes  to  Imperial  Government— In  1802 


xvi  CONTENTS 

looks  to  Lake  Winnipeg — Benevolent  project  of  trade —  FAO 
Compelled  to  choose  Prince  Edward  Island — Opinion  as  to 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  Charter — Nor'-Westers  alarmed — 
Hudson's  Bay  Company's  Stock — Purchases  Assiniboia — 
Advertises  the  new  colony — Religion  no  disqualification — 
Sends  first  colony — Troubles  of  the  project — Arrive  at  York 
Factory — The  winter — The  mutiny — "  Essence  of  Malt  " — 
Journey  inland — A  second  party — Third  party  under 
Archibald  Macdonald — From  Helmsdale — The  number  of 
colonists  . 2C 

CHAPTER    XXIV. 

TROUBLE  BETWEEN   THE   COMPANIES.       ^ 

Nor'-Westers  oppose  the  colony — Reason  why — A  considerable 
literature — Contentions  of  both  parties — Both  in  fault — 
Miles  Macdonell's  mistake — Nor' -Wester  arrogance — Duncan 
Cameron's  ingenious  plan — Stirring  up  the  Chippewas — 
Nor'-Westers  warn  colonists  to  depart — McLeod's  hitherto 
unpublished  narrative — Vivid  account  of  a  brave  defence 
— Chain  shot  from  the  blacksmith's  smithy — Fort  Douglas 
begun — Settlers  driven  out — Governor  Semple  arrives — 
Cameron  last  Governor  of  Fort  Gibraltar — Cameron  sent 
to  Britain  as  a  prisoner — Fort  Gibraltar  captured — Fort 
Gibraltar  decreases,  Fort  Douglas  increases — Free  traders 
take  to  the  plains — Indians  favour  the  colonists  .  .  .21 

CHAPTER    XXV. 

THE   SKIRMISH   OF   SEVEN   OAKS. 

Leader  of  the  Bois  Brules — A  candid  letter — Account  of  a 
prisoner — "  Yellow  Head  " — Speech  to  the  Indians — The 
chief  knows  nothing — On  fleet  Indian  ponies — An  eye- 
witness in  Fort  Douglas — A  rash  Governor — The  massacre 
— "  For  God's  sake  save  my  life " — The  Governor  and 
twenty  others  slain — Colonists  driven  out — Eastern  levy 
meets  the  settlers — Effects  seized — Wild  revelry — Chanson 
of  Pierre  Falcon  22 

CHAPTER    XXVI. 

LORD   SELKIRK   TO   THE   RESCUE. 

The  Earl  in  Montreal — Alarming  news — Engages  a  body  of 
Swiss — The  De  Meurons — Embark  for  the  North -West — 
Kawtawabetay's  story — Hears  of  Seven  Oaks — Lake  Superior 
— Lord  Selkirk — A  doughty  Douglas — Seizes  Fort  William 
— Canoes  upset  and  Nor'-Westers  drowned — "  A  banditti  " 
— The  Earl's  blunder — A  winter  march — Fort  Douglas 
recaptured — His  Lordship  soothes  the  settlers — An  Indian 
treaty—"  The  Silver  Chief  "—The  Earl's  note-book  .  .  22 


CONTENTS  xvii 

CHAPTER   XXVII, 

THE   BLUE-BOOK  OF   1819  AND   THE  NORTH-WEST  TRIALS.        PAQE 

British  law  disgraced — Governor  Sherbrooke's  distress — A  com- 
mission decided  on — Few  unbiassed  Canadians — Colonel 
Coltman  chosen — Over  ice  and  snow — Alarming  rumours — 
The  Prince  Regent's  orders — Coltman  at  Red  River — The 
Earl  submissive — The  Commissioner's  report  admirable — 
The  celebrated  Reinhart  case — Disturbing  lawsuits — Justice 
perverted — A  storehouse  of  facts — Sympathy  of  Sir  Walter 
Scott — Lord  Selkirk's  death — Tomb  at  Orthes,  in  France  252 

CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

MEN  WHO  PLAYED  A  PART. 

The  crisis  reached — Consequences  of  Seven  Oaks — The  noble 
Earl — His  generous  spirit — His  mistakes — Determined 
courage — Deserves  the  laurel  crown — The  first  Governor — 
Macdonell's  difficulties — His  unwise  step — A  captain  in  red 
— Cameron's  adroitness — A  wearisome  imprisonment — Last 
governor  of  Fort  Gibraltar — The  Metis  chief — Half-breed 
son  of  old  Cuthbert — A  daring  hunter — Warden  of  the 
plains — Lord  Selkirk's  agent^A  Red  River  patriarch— A 
faithful  witness — The  French  bard— Western  war  songs— 
Pierriche  Falcon  260 

CHAPTER   XXIX. 

GOVERNOR  SIMPSON  UNITES  ALL  INTERESTS. 

Both  Companies  in  danger — Edward  Ellice,  a  mediator — George 
Simpson,  the  man  of  destiny — Old  feuds  buried — Gatherings 
at  Norway  House — Governor  Simpson's  skill— His  mar- 
vellous energy — Reform  in  trade — Morality  low — A  famous 
canoe  voyage — Salutes  fired — Pompous  ceremony  at  Norway 
House — Strains  of  the  bagpipe — Across  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains— Fort  Vancouver  visited — Great  executive  ability— 
The  governor  knighted — Sir  George  goes  round  the  world 
—Troubles  of  a  book— Meets  the  Russians— Estimate  of 

Sir  George 27° 

CHAPTER    XXX. 

THE  LIFE  OF  THE   TRADERS. 

Lonely  trading  posts— Skilful  letter  writers— Queer  old  Peter 
Fidler— Famous    library— A    remarkable  will— A  stubborn 
Highlander— Life  at  Red  River— Badly-treated  Pangman— 
Founding     trading     houses— Beating    up    recruits— Priest 
Provencher— A  fur-trading  mimic— Life  far  north— 
with  a  rod  of  iron  "-Peeking  a  fur  country— Life  m  the 
canoe— A  trusted  trader— Sheaves  of  letters  —A  nnd 
Edinburgh-Faithful  correspondents-The  Bishop  s  cask  of 
wine— Red  River,  a  "  land  of  Canaan  "-Governor  Simpson  s 
letters— The  gigantic  Archdeacon  writes-    MacArgrave  s 
promotion-Kindly    Sieveright^-Traders   and    their   books     283 


xviii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER    XXXI. 

THE   VOYAGEURS   FROM   MONTREAL.  PAQB 

Lachine,  the  fur  traders'  Mecca — The  departure — The  flowing 
bowl — The  canoe  brigade — The  voyageurs'  song — "  En 
roulant  ma  boule  " — Village  of  St.  Anne's — Legend  of  the 
church — The  sailors'  guardian — Origin  of  "  Canadian  Boat 
Song  " — A  loud  invocation — "  A  la  Claire  Fontaine  " — 
"  Sing,  nightingale  " — At  the  rapids — The  ominous  crosses 
— "  Lament  of  Cadieux  " — A  lonely  maiden  sits — The 
Wendigo — Home  of  the  Ermatingers — A  very  old  canal — 
The  rugged  coast — Fort  William  reached — A  famous 
gathering — The  joyous  return 304 

CHAPTER    XXXII. 

EXPLORERS  IN  THE  FAR  NORTH. 

The  North-West  Passage  again — Lieutenant  John  Franklin's 
land  expedition — Two  lonely  winters — Hearne's  mistake 
corrected — Franklin's  second  journey — Arctic  sea  coast 
explored — Franklin  knighted — Captain  John  Ross  by  sea — 
Discovers  magnetic  pole — Magnetic  needle  nearly  perpen- 
dicular— Back  seeks  for  Ross — Dease  and  Simpson  sent  by 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  to  explore — Sir  John  in  Erebus  and 
Terror — The  Paleocrystic  Sea — Franklin  never  returns — 
Lady  Franklin's  devotion — The  historic  search — Dr.  Rae 
secures  relics — Captain  McClintock  finds  the  cairn  and 
written  record — Advantages  of  the  search  .  .  .  .315 

CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

EXPEDITIONS  TO  THE  FRONTIER  OF  THE  FUR  COUNTRY. 

A  disputed  boundary — Sources  of  the  Mississippi — The  fur 
traders  push  southward — Expedition  up  the  Missouri — 
Lewis  and  Clark  meet  Nor' -Westers — Claim  of  United 
States  made — Sad  death  of  Lewis — Lieutenant  Pike's 
journey — Pike  meets  fur  traders — Cautious  Dakotas — 
Treaty  with  Chippewas — Violent  death — Long  and  Keating 
fix  49  deg.  N. — Visit  Fort  Garry — Follow  old  fur  traders' 
route — An  erratic  Italian — Strange  adventures — Almost 
finds  source — Beltrami  County — Cass  and  Schoolcraft  fail 
— Schoolcraft  afterwards  succeeds — Lake  Itasca — Curious 
origin  of  name — The  source  determined  ....  326 

CHAPTER    XXXIV. 

FAMOUS   JOURNEYS   IN   RUPERT'S   LAND. 

Fascination  of  an  unknown  land — Adventure,  science,  or  gain 
— Lieutenant  Lefroy's  magnetic  survey — Hudson's  Bay 
Company  assists — Winters  at  Fort  Chipewyan — First 
scientific  visit  to  Peace  River — Notes  lost — Not  "  gratuitous 
canoe  conveyance " — Captain  Palliser  and  Lieutenant 


CONTENTS  xix 

Hector— Journey  through  Rupert's  Land— Rocky  Mountain  PAGE 
passes — On  to  the  coast — A  successful  expedition— Hind 
and  Dawson — To  spy  out  the  land  for  Canada— The  fertile 
belt — Hind's  description  good— Milton  and  Cheadle— 
Winter  on  the  Saskatchewan— Reach  Pacific  Ocean  in  a 
pitiable  condition — Captain  Butler — The  horse  Blackie  and 
dog  "  Cerf  Vola  " — Fleming  and  Grant — "  Ocean  to  ocean  " 
•"  Land  fitted  for  a  healthy  and  hardy  race  "—Waggon  road 
and  railway  '•.....  337 

CHAPTER    XXXV. 

RED    RIVER   SETTLEMENT. 
1817-1846. 

Chiefly  Scottish  and  French  settlers — Many  hardships — Grass- 
hoppers— Yellow  Head — "  Gouverneur  Sauterelle  " — Swiss 
settlers — Remarkable  parchment — Captain  Bulger,  a  mili- 
tary governor — Indian  troubles — Donald  McKenzie,  a  fur 
trader  governor — Many  projects  fail — The  flood— Plenty 
follows — Social  condition — Lower  Fort  built — Upper  Fort 
Garry — Council  of  Assiniboia — The  settlement  organized — 
Duncan  Finlayson  governor — English  farmers — Governor 
Christie — Serious  epidemic — A  regiment  of  regulars — -The 
unfortunate  major — The  people  restless  ....  348 

CHAPTER   XXXVI. 

THE   PRAIRIES  :     SLEDGE,    KEEL,    WHEEL,    CAYUSE,    CHASE. 

A  picturesque  life — The  prairie  hunters  and  traders  —Gaily- 
caparisoned  dog  trains — The  great  winter  packets — Joy  in 
the  lonely  forts — The  summer  trade — The  York  boat 
brigade — Expert  voyageurs— The  famous  Red  River  cart — 
Shagganappe  ponies — The  screeching  train — Tripping — The 
western  cayuse — The  great  buffalo  hunt — Warden  of  the 
plains — Pemmican  and  fat — The  return  in  triumph  .  .  360 

CHAPTER   XXXVH. 

LIFE  ON  THE  SHORES  OF  HUDSON  BAY  AND  LABRADOR. 

The  bleak  shores  unprogressive — Now  as  at  the  beginning — 
York  Factory — Description  of  Ballantyne — The  weather — 
Summer  comes  with  a  rush — Picking  up  subsistence — The 
Indian  trade — Inhospitable  Labrador — Establishment  of 
Ungava  Bay — McLean  at  Fort  Chimo — Herds  of  cariboo — 
Eskimo  rafts—"  Shadowy  Tartarus  "—The  king's  domains— 
Mingan— Mackenzie— The  gulf  settlements— The  Mora- 
vians— Their  four  missions — Rigolette,  the  chief  trading 
post — A  school  for  developing  character — Chief  Factor 
Donald  A.  Smith— Journeys  along  the  coastr— A  barren  shore  376 


xx  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 

ATHABASCA,  MACKENZIE   RIVER,   AND   THE   YUKON.  PAOE 

Peter  Pond  reaches  Athabasca  River — Fort  Chipewyan  estab- 
lished— Starting  point  of  Alexander  Mackenzie — The 
Athabasca  Library — The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  roused — 
Conflict  at  Fort  Wedderburn — Suffering — The  dash  up  the 
Peace  River — Fort  Dunvegan — Northern  extension — Fort 
Resolution — Fort  Providence — The  great  river  occupied — 
Loss  of  life — Fort  Simpson,  the  centre — Fort  Reliance — 
Herds  of  cariboo — Fort  Norman  built — Fort  Good  Hope — 
The  Northern  Rockies — The  Yukon  reached  and  occupied — 
The  fierce  Liard  River — Fort  Halkett  in  the  Mountains 
— Robert  Campbell  comes  to  the  Stikine — Discovers  the 
Upper  Yukon — His  great  fame — The  districts — Steamers 
on  the  water  stretches 386 

CHAPTER   XXXIX. 

ON  THE   PACIFIC  SLOPE. 

Extension  of  trade  in  New  Caledonia — The  Western  Depart- 
ment— Fort  Vancouver  built — Governor's  residence  and 
Bachelors'  Hall — Fort  Colville — James  Douglas,  a  man  of 
note — A  dignified  official — An  Indian  rising — A  brave 
woman — The  fertile  Columbia  Valley — Finlayson,  a  man  of 
action — Russian  fur  traders — Treaty  of  Alaska — Lease  of 
Alaska  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company — Fort  Langley — The 
great  farm — Black  at  Kamloops — Fur  trader  v.  botanist — 
"  No  soul  above  a  beaver's  skin  " — A  tragic  death — Chief 
Nicola's  eloquence — A  murderer's  fate  ....  399 

CHAPTER    XL. 

FROM   OREGON  TO   VANCOUVER  ISLAND. 

Fort  Vancouver  on  American  soil — Chief  Factor  Douglas 
chooses  a  new  site — Young  McLoughlin  killed — Liquor 
selling  prohibited — Dealing  with  the  Songhies — A  Jesuit 
father — Fort  Victoria — Finlayson's  skill — Chinook  jargon — 
The  brothers  Ermatinger — A  fur-trading  Junius — "  Fifty- 
four,  forty,  or  fight  " — Oregon  Treaty — Hudson's  Bay 
Company  indemnified — The  waggon  road — A  colony  estab- 
lished— First  governor — Gold  fever — British  Columbia — 
Fort  Simpson — Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  the  interior — 
The  forts — A  group  of  worthies — Service  to  Britain — The 
coast  becomes  Canadian 408 

CHAPTER    XLI. 

PRO   GLORIA   DEI. 

A  vast  region — First  spiritual  adviser — A  locum  tenens — Two 
French  Canadian  priests — St.  Boniface  founded — Mis- 
sionary zeal  in  Mackenzie  River  district — Red  River 


CONTENTS 


xx 


parishes  —  The  great  Archbishop  Tache—  John  West>—  Arch-  PAGE 
deacon  Cochrane,  the  founder—  John  McCallum—  Bishop 
Anderson—  English  Missionary  Societies—  Archbishop 
Machray—  Indian  Missions—  John  Black,  the  Presbyterian 
apostle  —  Methodist  Missions  on  Lake  Winnipeg  —  The  Cree 
syllabic  —  Chaplain  Staines  —  Bishop  Bridge—  Missionary 
Duncan  —  Metlakahtla  —  Roman  Catholic  coast  missions  — 
Church  of  England  bishop  —  Diocese  of  New  Westminster  _ 
Dr.  Evans  —  Robert  Jamieson  —  Education  ....  420 

CHAPTER    XLII. 
THE  HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY  AND  THE  INDIANS. 

Company's  Indian  policy  —  Character  of  officers—  A  race  of 
hunters  —  Plan  of  advances  —  Charges  against  the  Company 
—  Liquor  restriction  —  Capital  punishment  —  Starving 
Indians  —  Diseased  and  helpless  —  Education  and  religion  — 
The  age  of  missions  —  Sturdy  Saulteaux  —  The  Muskegons  — 
Wood  Crees  —  Wandering  Plain  Crees  —  The  Chipewyans  — 
Wild  Assiniboines  —  Blackfoot  Indians  —  Polyglot  coast 
tribes  —  Eskimos  —  No  Indian  war  —  No  police  —  Pliable  and 
docile  —  Success  of  the  Company  .  .  .  .  .431 

CHAPTER    XLIII. 

UNREST  IN  RUPERT'S  LAND. 

1844-1869. 

Discontent  on  Red  River  —  Queries  to  the  Governor  —  A 
courageous  Recorder  —  Free  Trade  in  furs  held  illegal 

—  Imprisonment  —  New    land    deed  —  Enormous    freights  — 
Petty    revenge  —  Turbulent    pensioners  —  Heart    burnings  — 
Heroic  Isbister  —  Half-breed  memorial  —  Mr.  Beaver's  letter 
—Hudson's  Bay  Company  notified  —  Lord  Elgin's  reply- 
Voluminous     correspondence  —  Company's     full     answer  — 
Colonel  Crofton's  statement  —  Major  Caldwell,  a  partisan- 
French   petition  —  Nearly  a  thousand  signatures  —  Love,  a 
factor  —  The  elder  Riel  —  A  court  scene  —  Violence  —  "Vive 
la  liberte  !  "  —  The  Recorder  checked—  A  new  judge  —  Unruly 
Corbett  —  The   prison   broken  —  Another  rescue  —  A  valiant 
doctor—  A  Red  River  Nestor         ......     438 

CHAPTER   XLIV. 

CANADA    COVETS   THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   TERRITORY. 

Renewal  of  licence  —  Labouchere's  letter  —  Canada  claims  to 
Pacific  Ocean  —  Commissioner  Chief-Justice  Draper  —  Rests 
on  Quebec  Act,  1774  —  Quebec  overlaps  Indian  territories- 
Company  loses  Vancouver  Island  —  Cauchon's  memorandum 

—  Committee  of  1857  —  Company  on  trial  —  A  brilliant  com- 
mittee —  Four  hundred  folios  of  evidence  —  To  transfer  Red 


xxii  CONTENTS 

River  and  Saskatchewan — Death  of  Sir  George — Governor  PAQE 
Dallas — A  cunning  scheme — Secret  negotiations — The 
Watkin  Company  floated — Angry  winterers — Dallas's 
soothing  circular — The  old  order  still — Ermatinger's  letters 
— McDougall's  resolutions — Cartier  and  McDougall  as 
delegates — Company  accepts  the  terms  ....  448 

CHAPTER    XLV. 

TROUBLES  OP  THE  TRANSFER  OF  RUPERT'S  LAND. 

Transfer  Act  passed — A  moribund  Government — The  Canadian 
surveying  party — Causes  of  the  rebellion — Turbulent 
Metis — American  interference — Disloyal  ecclesiastics — 
"  Governor "  McDougall — Riel  and  his  rebel  band — A 
blameworthy  governor — The  "  blawsted  fence  " — Seizure 
of  Fort  Garry — Riel's  ambitions — Loyal  rising — Three  wise 
men  from  the  East — The  New  Nation — A  winter  meeting 
— Bill  of  Rights — A  Canadian  shot — The  Wolseley  expedi- 
tion— Three  renegades  slink  away — The  end  of  Company 
rule — The  new  Province  of  Manitoba  ....  459 

CHAPTER    XLVI. 

PRESENT  STATUS  OF  THE  COMPANY. 

A  great  land  company — Fort  Garry  dismantled — The  new 
buildings — New  v.  old — New  life  in  the  Company — Palmy 
days  are  recalled — Governors  of  ability — The  present  dis- 
tinguished Governor — Vaster  operations — Its  eye  not 
dimmed  ..........  472 

CHAPTER   XLVII. 

THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  CANADIAN  WEST. 

The  Greater  Canada — Wide  wheat  fields — Vast  pasture  lands — 
Huronian  mines — The  Kootenay  riches — Yukon  nuggets 
— Forests — Iron  and  coal — Fisheries — Two  great  cities — 
Towns  and  villages — Anglo-Saxon  institutions — The  great 
outlook 477 

APPENDIX. 

A. — AUTHORITIES  AND  REFERENCES 483 

B. — SUMMARY  OF  LIFE  OF  PIERRE  ESPRIT  RADISSON         .  489 
C. — COMPANY  POSTS  IN  1856,  WITH  INDIANS      .        .        .491 

D.— CHIEF  FACTORS  (1821-1896) 493 

E. — RUSSIAN  AMERICA  (ALASKA) 495 

F. — THE  CREE  SYLLABIC  CHARACTER  .  497 

G. — NAMES    OF    H.B.Co.    OFFICERS    IN    PLATE    OPPOSITE 

PAGE  442 498 

INDEX  499 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

I  Four  great  Governors  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company        .         Frontispiece. 

^  Map  of  Hudson  Bay  and  Straits 6 

Anns  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 18 

Le  Moyne  D'Iberville   ...  52 

Comedey  de  Maisonneuve             82 

Junction  of  the  Ottawa  and  St.  Lawrence 94 

Map  of  Route  of  Scottish  Merchants  up  the  Ottawa  to  Lake  Athabasca  96 

Prince  of  Wales  Fort             108 

The  Lac  des  AUumettes 116 

Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie 130 

Daniel  William  Harmon,  Esq. 130 

Johann  Jacob  Astor    . 194 

Casanov,   Trader  and  Chief 194 

Fort  Douglas 226 

Seven  Oaks  Monument 232 

Lord  Selkirk 260 

Sir  George  Simpson 260 

Fort  William,  Lake  Superior 272 

Red  River  Note            284 

L— Portage 304 

II. — Decharge 304 

Block  House  of  old  H.B.  Company  Post 310 

-^  Map  of  the  Far  North 314 

Searchers  in  the  North 320 

Fort  Edmonton,  on  the  North  Saskatchewan '• 

Jasper  House,  Rocky  Mountains ; 

Map  of  Labrador,  and  the  King's  Domains 378 

Map  of  Mackenzie  River  and  the  Yukon • 

Sir  James  Douglas 398 

Fort  Victoria,  B.C 406 

Indians  of  the  Plains 

Council  of  Hudson's  Bay  Company  Commissioned  Officers  held  in 

Winnipeg,  1887              ^ 

Fort  Garry— Winter  Scenes *"JJ 

Commissioner  Chipman  (Winnipeg) 

Hudson's  Bay  Company's  Stores  and  General  Offices,  Winnipeg  47^ 

Parliament  Buildings,  Victoria,  B.C 


THE   HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY 

CHAPTER    I. 

THE  FIRST  VOYAGE  FOR  TRADE. 

Famous  Companies — "  The  old  lady  of  Fenchurch  Street  " — The  first 
voyage — Radisson  and  Groseilliers — Spurious  claim  of  the  French 
of  having  reached  the  Bay— "  Journal  published  by  Prince 
Society  " — The  claim  invalid — Early  voyages  of  Radisson — The 
Frenchmen  go  to  Boston — Cross  over  to  England — Help  from 
Royalty — Fiery  Rupert — The  King  a  stockholder— Many  hitherto 
unpublished  facts — Capt.  Zachariah  Gillam— Charles  Fort  built 
on  Rupert  River — The  founder's  fame. 

CHARLES  LAMB — "delightful  author" — opens  his  unique 
"  Essays  of  Elia  "  with  a  picturesque  description  of  the  quaint 
"  South  Sea  House."  Threadneedle  Street  becomes  a  mag- 
netic name  as  we  wander  along  it  toward  Bishopsgate  Street 
"  from  the  Bank,  thinking  of  the  old  house  with  the  oaken 
wainscots  hung  with  pictures  of  deceased  governors  and  sub- 
governors  of  Queen  Anne,  and  the  first  monarchs  of  the  Bruns- 
wick dynasty — huge  charts  which  subsequent  discoveries 
have  made  antiquated — dusty  maps,  dim  as  dreams,  and 
soundings  of  the  Bay  of  Panama."  But  Lamb,  after  all,  was 
only  a  short  time  in  the  South  Sea  House,  while  for  more 
than  thirty  years  he  was  a  clerk  in  the  India  House,  partaking 
of  the  genius  of  the  place. 

The  India  House  was  the  abode  of  a  Company  far  more 
famous  than  the  South  Sea  Company,  dating  back  more  than 
a  century  before  the  "  Bubble  "  Company,  having  been  brought 
into  existence  on  the  last  day  of  the  sixteenth  century  by  good 
Queen  Bess  herself.  To  a  visitor,  strolling  down  Leadenhall 
Street,  it  recalls  the  spirit  of  Lamb  to  turn  into  East  India 

B 


2  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Avenue,  and  the  mind  wanders  back  to  Clive  and  Burke  of 
Macaulay's  brilliant  essay,  in  which  he  impales,  with  balanced 
phrase  and  perfect  impartiality,  Philip  Francis  and  Warren 
Hastings  alike. 

The  London  merchants  were  mighty  men,  men  who  could 
select  their  agents,  and  send  their  ships,  and  risk  their  money 
on  every  sea  and  on  every  shore.  Nor  was  this  only  for  gain, 
but  for  philanthropy  as  well.  Across  yonder  is  the  abode  of 
the  New  England  Company,  founded  in  1649,  and  re-estab- 
lished by  Charles  II.  in  1661 — begun  and  still  existing  with  its 
fixed  income  "  for  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  NOAV 
England  and  the  adjoining  parts  of  America,"  having  had  as 
its  first  president  the  Hon.  Robert  Boyle  ;  and  hard  by  are  the 
offices  of  the  Canada  Company,  now  reaching  its  three- 
quarters  of  a  century. 

Not  always,  however,  as  Macaulay  points  out,  did  the 
trading  Companies  remember  that  the  pressure  on  their 
agents  abroad  for  increased  returns  meant  the  temptation  to 
take  doubtful  or  illicit  methods  to  gain  their  ends.  They 
would  have  recoiled  from  the  charge  of  Lady  Macbeth, — 

"  Wouldst  not  play  false, 
And  yet  wouldst  wrongly  win." 

Yet  on  the  whole  the  Merchant  Companies  of  London  bear 
an  honourable  record,  and  have  had  a  large  share  in  laying  the 
foundations  of  England's  commercial  greatness. 

Wandering  but  a  step  further  past  East  India  Avenue,  at 
the  corner  of  Lime  and  Leadenhall  Streets,  we  come  to-day 
upon  another  building  sitting  somewhat  sedately  in  the  very 
heart  of  stirring  and  living  commerce.  This  is  the  Hudson's 
Bay  House,  the  successor  of  the  old  house  on  Fenchurch 
Street,  the  abode  of  another  Company,  whose  history  goes 
back  for  more  than  two  centuries  and  a  quarter,  and  which  is 
to-day  the  most  vigorous  and  vivacious  of  all  the  sisterhood  of 
companies  we  have  enumerated.  While  begun  as  a  purely 
trading  Company,  it  has  shown  in  its  remarkable  history  not 
only  the  shrewdness  and  business  skill  of  the  race,  called  by 
Napoleon  a  "  nation  of  shopkeepers,"  but  it  has  been  the 
governing  power  over  an  empire  compassing  nearly  one  half 


THE   FIRST    VOYAGE   FOR    TRADE  3 

of  North  America,  it  has  been  the  patron  of  science  and  ex- 
ploration, the  defender  of  the  British  flag  and  name,  and 
the  fosterer,  to  a  certain  extent,  of  education  and  religion. 

Not  only  on  the  shores  of  Hudson  Bay,  but  on  the  Pacific 
coast,  in  the  prairies  of  Red  River,  and  among  the  snows  of 
the  Arctic  slope,  on  the  rocky  shores  of  Labrador  and  in  the 
mountain  fastnesses  of  the  Yukon,  in  the  posts  of  Fort 
William  and  Nepigon,  on  Lake  Superior,  and  in  far  distant 
Athabasca,  among  the  wild  Crees,  or  greasy  Eskimos,  or 
treacherous  Chinooks,  it  has  floated  the  red  cross  standard, 
with  the  well-known  letters  H.  B.  C.— an  "  open  sesame  "  to 
the  resources  of  a  wide  extent  of  territory. 

The  founding  of  the  Company  has  features  of  romance. 
These  may  well  be  detailed,  and  to  do  so  leads  us  back  several 
years  before  the  incorporation  of  the  Company  by  Charles  II. 
in  1670.  The  story  of  the  first  voyage  and  how  it  came  about 
is  full  of  interest. 

Two  French  Protestant  adventurers — Medard  Chouart  and 
Pierre  Esprit  Radisson — the  former  born  near  Meaux,  in 
France,  and  the  other  a  resident  of  St.  Malo,  in  Brittany — 
had  gone  to  Canada  about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  Full  of  energy  and  daring,  they,  some  years  after- 
wards, embarked  in  the  fur  trade,  and  had  many  adventures. 

Radisson  was  first  captured  by  the  Iroquois,  and  adopted 
into  one  of  their  tribes.  After  two  years  he  escaped,  and 
having  been  taken  to  Europe,  returned  to  Montreal.  Shortly 
afterwards  he  took  part  in  the  wars  between  the  Hurons  and 
Iroquois.  Chouart  was  for  a  time  assistant  in  a  Jesuit 
mission,  but,  like  most  young  men  of  the  time,  yielded  to  the 
attractions  of  the  fur  trade.  He  had  married  first  the  daughter 
of  Abraham  Martin,  the  French  settler,  after  whom  the  plains 
of  Abraham  at  Quebec  are  named.  On  her  death  Chouart 
married  the  widowed  sister  of  Radisson,  and  henceforth  the 
fortunes  of  the  two  adventurers  were  closely  bound  up  together. 
The  marriage  of  Chouart  brought  him  a  certain  amount 
of  property,  he  purchased  land  fcut  of  the  proceeds  of 
his  ventures,  and  assumed  the  title  of  Sejgnior,  being  known 
as  "  Sieur  des  Groseilliers."  In  the  year  1658  Groseilliers 
and  Radisson  went  on  the  third  expedition  to  the  west,  and 


4  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

returned  after  an  absence  of  two  years,  having  wintered  afc 
Lake  Nepigon,  which  they  called ' '  Assiniboines."  It  is  worthy 
of  note  that  Radisson  frankly  states  in  the  account  of  his  third 
voyage  that  they  had  not  been  in  the  Bay  of  the  North 
(Hudson  Bay). 

The  fourth  voyage  of  the  two  partners  in  1661  was  one  of 
an  eventful  kind,  and  led  to  very  important  results.  They  had 
applied  to  the  Governor  for  permission  to  trade  in  the  interior, 
but  this  was  refused,  except  on  very  severe  conditions.  Having 
had  great  success  on  their  previous  voyage,  and  with  the  spirit 
of  adventure  inflamed  within  them,  the  partners  determined  to 
throw  off  all  authority,  and  at  midnight  departed  without  the 
Governor's  leave,  for  the  far  west.  During  an  absence  of  two 
years  the  adventurers  turned  their  canoes  northward,  and 
explored  the  north  shore  of  Lake  Superior. 

It  is  in  connection  with  this  fourth  voyage  (1661)  that  the 
question  has  been  raised  as  to  whether  Radisson  and  his 
brother-in-law  Groseilliers  visited  Hudson  Bay  by  land.  The 
conflicting  claim  to  the  territory  about  Hudson  Bay  by  France 
and  England  gives  interest  to  this  question.  Two  French 
writers  assert  that  the  two  explorers  had  visited  Hudson  Bay 
by  land.  These  are,  the  one,  M.  Bacqueville  de  la  Potherie, 
Paris  ;  and  the  other,  M.  Jeremie,  Governor  of  the  French 
ports  in  Hudson  Bay.  Though  both  maintain  that  Hudson 
Bay  was  visited  by  the  two  Frenchmen,  Radisson  and  Gro- 
seilliers, yet  they  differ  entirely  in  details,  Jeremie  stating  that 
they  captured  some  Englishmen  there,  a  plain  impossibility. 

Oldmixon,  an  English  writer,  in  1708,  makes  the  following 
statement : — "  Monsieur  Radisson  and  Monsieur  Gooselier, 
meeting  with  some  savages  in  the  Lake  of  the  Assinipouals,  in 
Canada,  they  learnt  of  them  that  they  might  go  by  land  to  the 
bottom  of  the  bay,  where  the  English  had  not  yet  been.  Upon 
which  they  desired  them  to  conduct  them  thither,  and  the 
savages  accordingly  did  it."  Oldmixon  is,  however,  inaccurate 
in  some  other  particulars,  and  probably  had  little  authority  for 
this  statement. 

THE    CRITICAL  PASSAGE. 

The  question  arises  in  Radisson's  Journals,  which  are 
published  in  the  volume  of  the  Prince  Society. 


THE   FIRST    VOYAGE   FOR    TRADE  5 

For  so  great  a  discovery  the  passage  strikes  us  as  being  very 
short  and  inadequate,  and  no  other  reference  of  the  kind  is 
made  in  the  voyages.  It  is  as  follows,  being  taken  from  the 
fourth  voyage,  page  224  : — 

"  We  went  away  with  all  hast  possible  to  arrive  the  sooner 
at  ye  great  river.  We  came  to  the  seaside,  where  we  finde  an 
old  house  all  demolished  and  battered  with  boullets.  We 
weare  told  yt  those  that  came  there  were  of  two  nations,  one 
of  the  wolf,  and  the  other  of  the  long-horned  beast.  All  those 
nations  are  distinguished  by  the  representation  of  the  beasts 
and  animals.  They  tell  us  particularities  of  the  Europians. 
We  know  ourselves,  and  what  Europ  is  like,  therefore  in 
vaine  they  tell  us  as  for  that.  We  went  from  isle  to  isle  all  that 
summer.  We  pluckt  abundance  of  ducks,  as  of  other  sort  of 
fowles  ;  we  wanted  not  fish,  nor  fresh  meat.  We  weare  well 
beloved,  and  weare  overjoyed  that  we  promised  them  to  come 
with  such  shipps  as  we  invented.  This  place  has  a  great  store 
of  cows.  The  wild  men  kill  not  except  for  necessary  use. 
We  went  further  in  the  bay  to  see  the  place  that  they  weare  to 
pass  that  summer.  That  river  comes  from  the  lake,  and 
empties  itself  in  ye  river  of  Sagnes  (Saguenay)  called  Tadou- 
sack,  wch  is  a  hundred  leagues  in  the  great  river  of  Canada, 
as  where  we  are  in  ye  Bay  of  ye  North.  We  left  in  this  place 
our  marks  and  rendezvous.  The  wild  men  yt  brought  us 
defended  us  above  all  things,  if  we  would  come  quietly  to 
them,  that  we  should  by  no  means  land,  &  so  goe  to  the  river 
to  the  other  side,  that  is  to  the  North,  towards  the  sea,  telling 
us  that  those  people  weare  very  treacherous/' 

THE   CLAIM   INVALID. 

We  would  remark  as  follows  : — 

1.  The  fourth  voyage  may  be  traced  as  a  journey  through 
Lake  Superior,  past  the  pictured  rocks  on  its  south  side, 
beyond  the  copper  deposits,  westward  to  where  there  are 
prairie  meadows,  where  the  Indians  grow  Indian  corn,  and 
where  elk  and  buffalo  are  found,  in  fact  in  the  region  toward 
the  Mississippi  River. 

2.  The  country  was  toward  that  of  the  Nadoneseronons, 
i.e.  the  Nadouessi   or  Sioux  ;   north-east  of  them  were  the 


6  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Christines  or  Crees  ;  so  that  the  region  must  have  been  what 
we  know  at  present  as  Northern  Minnesota.  They  visited  the 
country  of  the  Sioux,  the  present  States  of  Dakota,  and 
promised  to  visit  the  Christines  on  their  side  of  the  upper  lake, 
evidently  Lake  of  the  Woods  or  Winnipeg. 

3.  In  the  passage  before  us  they  were  fulfilling  their  promise. 
They  came  to  the  "seaside."     This  has  given  colour  to  the 
idea  that  Hudson  Bay  is  meant.   An  examination  of  Radisson 's 
writing  shows  us,  however,  that  he  uses  the  terms  lake  and 
sea  interchangeably.     For  example,  in  page  155,  he  speaks  of 
the  "  Christinos  from  the  bay  of  the  North  Sea/'  which  could 
only  refer  to  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  or  Lake  Winnipeg. 
Again,  on  page  134,  Radisson  speaks  of  the  "  Lake  of  the 
Murrons  which  was  upon  the  border  of  the  sea,"  evidently 
meaning  Lake  Superior.     On  the  same  page,  in  the  heading 
of  the  third  voyage,  he  speaks  of  the  "  filthy  Lake  of  the 
Hurrons,  Upper  Sea  of  the  East,  and  Bay  of  the  north/'  and 
yet  no  one  has  claimed  that  in  this  voyage  he  visited  Hudson 
Bay.     Again,  elsewhere,  Radisson  uses  the  expression, ' '  salted 
lake  "  for  the  Atlantic,  which  must  be  crossed  to  reach  France. 

4.  Thus  in  the  passage  "  the  ruined  h  ^use  on  the  seaside  " 
would  seem  to  have  been  one  of  the  lakes  mentioned.     The 
Christinos  tell  them  of  Europeans,  whom  they  have  met  a 
few  years  before,  perhaps  an  earlier  French  party  on  Lake 
Superior  or  at  the  Sault.     The  lake  or  sea  abounded  in  islands. 
This  would  agree  with  the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  where  the 
Christinos  lived,  and  not  Hudson  Bay.     Whatever  place  it 
was  it  had  a  great  store  of  cows  or  buffalo.     Lake  of  the  Woods 
is  the  eastern  limit  of  the  buffalo.     They  are  not  found  on  the 
shores  of  Hudson  Bay. 

5.  It  will  be  noticed  also  that  he  speaks  of  a  river  flowing 
from  the  lake,  when  he  had  gone  further  in  the  bay,  evidently 
the  extension  of  the  lake,  and  this  river  empties  itself  into  the 
Saguenay.     This    is    plainly   pure   nonsense.     It    would    be 
equally  nonsensical  to  speak  of  it  in  connection  with  the 
Hudson  Bay,  as  no  river  empties  from  it  into  the  Saguenay. 

Probably  looking  at  the  great  River  Winnipeg  as  it  flows 
from  Lake  of  the  Woods,  or  Bay  of  Islands  as  it  was  early 
called,  he  sees  it  flowing  north-easterly,  and  with  the  mistaken 


t,       .  J   CHART  0 

(HUDSONS  STREIGHTS) 
^-r^B*A.V^>C         \ 

vis  STREI«HTS        )  J 


MAP   OF   HUDSON    BAY    AND    STRAITS 

known  Bis  ?ean  before  the  first  Hudson's  Bay  Company  Expedition  sailed  for 
Hudson    Bay. 

(Ttikrn  jmm  Drm/e'x  "  Account  of  a  Voyage.") 


[Page 


THE    FIRST    VOYAGE   FOR    TRADE  7 

views  so  common  among  early  voyageurs,  conjectures  it  to  run 
toward  the  great  Saguenay  and  to  empty  into  it,  thence  into 
the  St.  Lawrence. 

6.  This   passage   shows   the   point   reached,   which   some 
interpret  as  Hudson  Bay  or  James  Bay,  could  not  have  been 
so,  for  it  speaks  of  a  further  point  toward  the  north,  toward 
the  sea. 

7.  Closely  interpreted,  it  is  plain  that  Radisson  1  had  not 
only  not  visited  Hudson  or  James  Bay,  but  that  he  had  a 
wrong  conception  of  it  altogether.     He  is  simply  giving  a  vague 
story  of  the  Christines. 2 

On  the  return  of  Groseilliers  and  Radisson  to  Quebec,  the 
former  was  made  a  prisoner  by  order  of  the  Governor  for  illicit 
trading.  The  two  partners  were  fined  4000Z.  for  the  purpose  of 
erecting  a  fort  at  Three  Rivers,  and  6000J.  to  go  to  the  general 
funds  of  New  France. 

A   GREAT   ENTERPRISE. 

Filled  with  a  sense  of  injustice  at  the  amount  of  the  fine 
placed  upon  them,  the  unfortunate  traders  crossed  over  to 
France  and  sought  restitution.  It  was  during  their  heroic 
efforts  to  secure  a  remission  of  the  fine  that  the  two  partners 
urged  the  importance,  both  in  Quebec  and  Paris,  of  an  expedi- 
tion being  sent  out  to  explore  Hudson  Bay,  of  which  they  had 
heard  from  the  Indians.  Their  efforts  in  Paris  were  fruitless, 
and  they  came  back  to  Quebec,  burning  for  revenge  upon  the 
rapacious  Governor. 

Driven  to  desperation  by  what  they  considered  a  persecu- 
tion, and  no  doubt  influenced  by  their  being  Protestant  in 
faith,  the  adventurers  now  turned  their  faces  toward  the  Eng- 
lish. In  1664  they  went  to  Port  Royal,  in  Acadia,  and  thence 
to  New  England.  Boston  was  then  the  centre  of  English 
enterprise  in  America,  and  the  French  explorers  brought 
their  case  before  the  merchants  of  that  town.  They 
asserted  that  having  been  on  Lake  Assiniboine,  north  of  Lake 
Superior,  they  had  there  been  assured  by  the  Indians  that 
Hudson  Bay  could  be  reached. 

1  See  map  opposite. 

2  Mr.  Miller  Christie,  of  London,  and  others  are  of  opinion  that 
Radisson  visited  Hudson  Bay  on  this  fourth  voyage. 


8  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

After  much  effort  they  succeeded  in  engaging  a  New 
England  ship,  which  went  as  far  as  Lat.  61,  to  the  entrance  of 
Hudson  Straits,  but  on  account  of  the  timidity  of  the  master  of 
the  ship,  the  voyage  was  given  up  and  the  expedition  was 
fruitless. 

The  two  enterprising  men  were  then  promised  by  the  ship- 
owners the  use  of  two  vessels  to  go  on  their  search  in  1665, 
but  they  were  again  discouraged  by  one  of  the  vessels  being 
sent  on  a  trip  to  Sable  Isle  and  the  other  to  the  fisheries  in  the 
Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  Groseilliers  and  Radisson,  bitterly 
disappointed,  sought  to  maintain  their  rights  against  the  ship- 
owners in  the  Courts,  and  actually  won  their  case,  but  they 
were  still  unable  to  organize  an  expedition. 

At  this  juncture  the  almost  discouraged  Frenchmen  met  the 
two  Royal  Commissioners  who  were  in  America  in  behalf  of 
Charles  U.  to  settle  a  number  of  disputed  questions  in  New 
England  and  New  York.  By  one  of  these,  Sir  George 
Carteret,  they  were  induced  to  visit  England.  Sir  George 
was  no  other  than  the  Vice-Chamberlain  to  the  King  and 
Treasurer  of  the  Navy.  He  and  our  adventurers  sailed  for 
Europe,  were  captured  by  a  Dutch  ship,  and  after  being 
landed  on  the  coast  of  Spain,  reached  England. 

Through  the  influence  of,  Carteret  they  obtained  an  audience 
with  King  Charles  on  October  25th,  1666,  and  he  promised 
that  a  ship  should  be  supplied  to  them  as  soon  as  possible  with 
which  to  proceed  on  their  long-planned  journey. 

Even  at  this  stage  another  influence  came  into  view  in  the 
attempt  of  De  Witt,  the  Dutch  Ambassador,  to  induce  the 
Frenchmen  to  desert  England  and  go  out  under  the  auspices 
of  Holland.  Fortunately  they  refused  these  offers. 

The  war  with  the  Dutch  delayed  the  expedition  for  one 
year,  and  in  the  second  year  their  vessel  received  orders  too 
late  to  be  fitted  up  for  the  voyage.  The  assistance  of  the 
English  ambassador  to  France,  Mr.  Montague,  was  then 
invoked  by  Groseilliers  and  Radisson,  now  backed  up  by  a 
number  of  merchant  friends  to  prepare  for  the  voyage. 

Through  this  influence,  an  audience  was  obtained  from 
Prince  Rupert,  the  King's  cousin,  and  his  interest  was  awak- 
ened in  the  enterprise. 


THE   FIRST    VOYAGE   FOR    TRADE  9 

It  was  a  remarkable  thing  that  at  this  time  the  Royal  House 
of  England  showed  great  interest  in  trade.  A  writer  of  a 
century  ago  has  said,  "  Charles  II.,  though  addicted  to 
pleasure,  was  capable  of  useful  exertions,  and  he  loved  com- 
merce. His  brother,  the^Duke  of  York,  though  possessed  of 
less  ability,  was  endowe^ftbh  greater  perseverance,  and  by  a 
peculiar  felicity  placed  his  chief  amusement  in  commercial 
schemes  whilst  he  possessed  the  whole  influence  of  the  State/' 
"  The  Duke  of  York  spent  half  his  time  in  the  business  of 
commerce  in  the  city,  presiding  frequently  at  meetings  of 
courts  of  directors/' 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  circumstances  were  very  favourable 
for  the  French  enthusiasts  who  were  to  lead  the  way  to 
Hudson  Bay,  and  the  royal  personages  who  were  anxious  to 
engage  in  new  and  profitable  schemes. 

The  first  Stock  Book  (1667)  is  still  in  existence  in  the 
Hudson's  Bay  House,  in  London,  and  gives  an  account  of  the 
stock  taken  in  the  enterprise  even  before  the  Company  was 
organized  by  charter.  First  on  the  list  is  the  name  of  His 
Royal  Highness  the  Duke  of  York,  and,  on  the  credit  side  of 
the  account,  "  By  a  share  presented  to  him  in  the  stock  and 
adventure  by  the  Governor  and  Company,  300J." 

The  second  stockholder  on  the  list  is  the  notable  Prince 
Rupert,  who  took  3001.  stock,  and  paid  it  up  in  the  next  two 
years,  with  the  exception  of  100?.  which  he  transferred  to  Sir 
George  Carteret,  who  evidently  was  the  guiding  mind  in  the 
beginning  of  the  enterprise.  Christopher,  Duke  of  Albemarle — 
the  son  of  the  great  General  Monk,  who  had  been  so  influential 
in  the  restoration  of  Charles  II.  to  the  throne  of  England, 
was  a  stockholder  for  5001. 

Then  came  as  stockholders,  and  this  before  the  Company  had 
been  formally  organized,  William,  Earl  of  Craven,  well  known 
as  a  personal  friend  of  Prince  Rupert ;  Henry,  Earl  of  Arling- 
ton, a  member  of  the  ruling  cabal  ;  while  Anthony,  Earl  of 
Shaftesbury,  the  versatile  minister  of  Charles,  is  down  for  1001 
Sir  George  Carteret  is  charged  with  between  six  and  seven 
hundred  pounds'  worth  of  stock;  Sir  John  Robinson,  Sir 
Robert  Vyner,  Sir  Peter  Colleton  and  others  with  large  sums. 

As  we  have  seen,  in  the  year  1667  the  project  took  shape,  a 


io  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

number  of  those  mentioned  being  responsible  for  the  ship,  its 
cargo,  and  the  expenses  of  the  voyage.  Among  those  who 
seem  to  have  been  most  ready  with  their  money  were  the 
Duke  of  Albemarle,  Earl  of  Craven,  Sir  George  Carteret,  Sir 
John  Robinson,  and  Sir  Peter  Colleton.  An  entry  of  great 
interest  is  made  in  connection  with  the  last-named  knight. 
He  is  credited  with  961.  cash  paid  to  the  French  explorers, 
who  were  the  originators  of  the  enterprise.  It  is  amusing, 
however,  to  see  Groseilliers  spoken  of  as  "  Mr.  Gooseberry  " 
a  somewhat  inaccurate  translation  of  his  name. 

Two  ships  were  secured  by  the  merchant  adventurers,  the 
Eaglet,  Captain  Stannard,,  and  the  Nonsuch  Ketch,  Captain 
Zachariah  Gillam.  The  former  vessel  has  almost  been  for- 
gotten, because  after  venturing  on  the  journey,  passing  the 
Orkneys,  crossing  the  Atlantic,  and  approaching  Hudson 
Straits,  the  master  thought  the  enterprise  an  impossible  one, 
and  returned  to  London. 

Special  interest  attaches  to  the  Nonsuch  Ketch.  It  was  the 
successful  vessel,  but  another  notable  thing  connected  with  it 
was  that  its  New  England  captain,  Zachariah  Gillam,  had  led 
the  expedition  of  1664,  though  now  the  vessel  under  his 
command  was  one  of  the  King's  ships. l 

It  was  in  June,  1668,  that  the  vessels  sailed  from  Gravesend, 
on  the  Thames,  and  proceeded  on  their  journey,  Groseilliers 
being  aboard  the  Nonsuch,  and  Radisson  in  the  Eaglet.  The 
Nonsuch  found  the  Bay,  discovered  little  more  than  half  a 
century  before  by  Hudson,  and  explored  by  Button,  Fox,  and 
James,  the  last-named  less  than  forty  years  before.  Captain 
Gillam  is  said  to  have  sailed  as  far  north  as  75°  N.  in  Baffin 
Bay,  though  this  is  disputed,  and  then  to  have  returned  into 
Hudson  Bay,  where,  turning  southward,  he  reached  the 
bottom  of  the  Bay  on  September  29th.  Entering  a  stream, 
the  Nemisco,  on  the  south-east  corner  of  the  Bay — a  point 
probably  not  less  than  150  miles  from  the  nearest  French 
possessions  in  Canada — the  party  took  possession  of  it,  calling 
it,  after  the  name  of  their  distinguished  patron,  Prince  Rupert's 
River. 

1  A  copy  of  the  instructions  given  the  captains  may  be  found  in 
State  Papers,  London,  Charles  II.,  251,  No.  180. 


THE    FIRST    VOYAGE   FOR    TRADE  n 

Here,  at  their  camping-place,  they  met  the  natives  of  the 
district,  probably  a  branch  of  the  Swampy  Crees.  With  the 
Indians  they  held  a  parley,  and  came  to  an  agreement  by 
which  they  were  allowed  to  occupy  a  certain  portion  of 
territory.  With  busy  hands  they  went  to  work  and  built  a 
stone  fort,  in  Lat.  51°  20'  N.,  Long.  78°  W.,  which,  in  honour 
of  their  gracious  sovereign,  they  called  "  Charles  Fort." 

Not  far  away  from  their  fort  lay  Charlton  Island,  with  its 
shores  of  white  sand,  and  covered  over  with  a  growth  of 
juniper  and  spruce.  To  this  they  crossed  on  the  ice  upon  the 
freezing  of  the  river  on  December  9th.  Having  made  due 
preparations  for  the  winter,  they  passed  the  long  and  dreary 
time,  finding  the  cold  excessive.  As  they  looked  out  they  saw 
"  Nature  looking  like  a  carcase  frozen  to  death." 

In  April,  1669,  however,  the  cold  was  almost  over,  and  they 
were  surprised  to  see  the  bursting  forth  of  the  spring.  Satis- 
fied with  their  journey,  they  left  the  Bay  in  this  year  and 
sailed  southward  to  Boston,  from  which  port  they  crossed  the 
ocean  to  London,  and  gave  an  account  of  their  successful 
voyage. 

The  fame  of  the  pioneer  explorer  is  ever  an  enviable  one. 
There  can  be  but  one  Columbus,  and  so  for  all  time  this  voyage 
of  Zachariah  Gillam,  because  it  was  the  expedition  which 
resulted  in  the  founding  of  the  first  fort,  and  in  the  beginning 
of  the  great  movement  which  has  lasted  for  more  than  two 
centuries,  will  be  memorable.  It  was  not  an  event  which 
made  much  stir  in  London  at  the  time,  but  it  was  none  the 
less  the  first  of  a  long  series  of  most  important  and  far- 
reaching  activities. 


CHAPTER   II. 
HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY  FOUNDED. 

Royal  charters — Good  Queen  Bess — "  So  miserable  a  wilderness  " — 
Courtly  stockholders — Correct  spelling — "  The  nonsense  of  the 
Charters  " — Mighty  rivers — Lords  of  the  territory — To  execute 
justice — War  on  infidels — Power  to  seize — "  Skin  for  skin  " — 
Friends  of  the  red  man. 

THE  success  of  the  first  voyage  made  by  the  London  merchants 
to  Hudson  Bay  was  so  marked  that  the  way  was  open  for 
establishing  the  Company  and  carrying  on  a  promising  trade. 
The  merchants  who  had  given  their  names  or  credit  for  Gillam's 
expedition  lost  no  time  in  applying,  with  their  patron,  Prince 
Rupert,  at  their  head,  to  Bong  Charles  II.  for  a  Charter  to 
enable  them  more  safely  to  carry  out  their  plans.  Their  appli- 
cation was,  after  some  delay,  granted  on  May  2nd,  1670. 

The  modern  method  of  obtaining  privileges  such  as  they 
sought  would  have  been  by  an  application  to  Parliament ;  but 
the  seventeenth  century  was  the  era  of  Royal  Charters.  Much 
was  said  in  England  eighty  years  after  the  giving  of  this 
Charter,  and  again  in  Canada  forty  years  ago,  against  the 
illegality  and  unwisdom  of  such  Royal  Charters  as  the  one 
granted  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  These  criticisms, 
while  perhaps  just,  scarcely  cover  the  ground  in  question. 

As  to  the  abstract  point  of  the  granting  of  Royal  Charters, 
there  would  probably  be  no  two  opinions  to-day,  but  it  was 
conceded  to  be  a  royal  prerogative  two  centuries  ago,  although 
the  famous  scene  cannot  be  forgotten  where  Queen  Elizabeth, 
in  allowing  many  monopolies  which  she  had  granted  to  be 
repealed,  said  in  answer  to  the  Address  from  the  House  of 
Commons  :  "  Never  since  I  was  a  queen  did  I  put  my  pen  to 
any  grant  but  upon  pretext  and  semblance  made  to  me  that  it 

12 


HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY   FOUNDED        13 

was  both  good  and  beneficial  to  the  subject  in  general,  though 
private  profit  to  some  of  my  ancient  servants  who  had  deserved 
well.  .  .  .  Never  thought  was  cherished  in  my  heart  that 
tended  not  to  my  people's  good." 

The  words,  however,  of  the  Imperial  Attorney-General  and 
Solicitor-General,  Messrs.  Bethel  and  Keating,  of  Lincoln's 
Inn,  when  appealed  to  by  the  British  Parliament,  are  very 
wise  :  "  The  questions  of  the  validity  and  construction  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  Charter  cannot  be  considered  apart 
from  the  enjoyment  that  has  been  had  under  it  during  nearly 
two  centuries,  and  the  recognition  made  of  the  rights  of  the 
Company  in  various  acts,  both  of  the  Government  and  Legis- 
lature." 

The  bestowal  of  such  great  privileges  as  those  given  to  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  are  easily  accounted  for  in  the  pre- 
vailing idea  as  to  the  royal  prerogative,  the  strong  influence  at 
Court  in  favour  of  the  applicants  for  the  Charter,  and,  it  may 
be  said,  in  such  opinions  as  that  expressed  forty  years  after  by 
Oldmixon  :  "  There  being  no  towns  or  plantations  in  this 
country  (Rupert's  Land),  but  two  or  three  forts  to  defend  the 
factories,  we  thought  we  were  at  liberty  to  place  it  in  our  book 
where  we  pleased,  and  were  loth  to  let  our  history  open  with 
the  description  of  so  wretched  a  Colony.  For  as  rich  as  the 
trade  to  those  parts  has  been  or  may  be,  the  way  of  living  is 
such  that  we  cannot  reckon  any  man  happy  whose  lot  is  cast 
upon  this  Bay." 

The  Charter  certainly  opens  with  a  breath  of  unrestrained 
heartiness  on  the  part  of  the  good-natured  King  Charles. 
First  on  the  list  of  recipients  is  "our  dear  entirely  beloved 
Prince  Rupert,  Count  Palatine  of  the  Rhine,  Duke  of  Bavaria 
and  Cumberland,  etc,"  who  seems  to  have  taken  the  King 
captive,  as  if  by  one  of  his  old  charges  when  he  gained  the 
name  of  the  fiery  Rupert  of  Edgehill.  Though  the  stock  book 
of  the  Company  has  the  entry  made  in  favour  of  Christopher, 
Duke  of  Albemarle,  yet  the  Charter  contains  that  of  the  famous 
General  Monk,  who,  as  "  Old  George,"  stood  his  ground  in 
London  during  the  year  of  the  plague  and  kept  order  in  the 
terror-stricken  city.  The  explanation  of  the  occurrence  of  the 
two  names  is  found  in  the  fact  that  the  father  died  in  the  year 


14  THE    HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

of  the  granting  of  the  Charter.  The  reason  for  the  appearance 
of  the  name  of  Sir  Philip  Carteret  in  the  Charter  is  not  so 
evident,  for  not  only  was  Sir  George  Carteret  one  of  the  pro- 
moters of  the  Company,  but  his  name  occurs  as  one  of  the 
Court  of  Adventurers  in  the  year  after  the  granting  of  the 
Charter.  John  Portman,  citizen  and  goldsmith  of  London,  is 
the  only  member  named  who  is  neither  nobleman,  knight,  nor 
esquire,  but  he  would  seem  to  have  been  very  useful  to  the 
Company  as  a  man  of  means. 

The  Charter  states  that  the  eighteen  incorporators  named 
deserve  the  privileges  granted  because  they ' '  have  at  their  own 
great  cost  and  charges  undertaken  an  expedition  for  Hudson 
Bay,  in  the  north-west  parts  of  America,  for  a  discovery  of  a 
new  passage  into  the  South  Sea,  and  for  the  finding  of  some 
trade  for  furs,  minerals,  and  other  considerable  commodities, 
and  by  such  their  undertakings,  have  already  made  such  dis- 
coveries as  to  encourage  them  to  proceed  farther  in  pursuance 
of  their  said  design,  by  means  whereof  there  may  probably 
arise  great  advantage  to  Us  and  our  kingdoms/' 

The  full  name  of  the  Company  given  in  the  Charter  is,  ' '  The 
Governor  and  Company  of  Adventurers  of  England,  trading 
into  Hudson  Bay."  They  have  usually  been  called  "  The 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,"  the  form  of  the  possessive  case  being 
kept  in  the  name,  though  it  is  usual  to  speak  of  the  bay  itself  as 
Hudson  Bay.  The  adventurers  are  given  the  powers  of  pos- 
session, succession,  and  the  legal  rights  and  responsibilities 
usually  bestowed  in  incorporation,  with  the  power  of  adopting 
a  seal  or  changing  the  same  at  their  "  will  and  pleasure  "  ;  and 
this  is  granted  in  the  elaborate  phraseology  found  in  documents 
of  that  period.  Full  provision  is  made  in  the  Charter  for  the 
election  of  Governor,  Deputy-Governor,  and  the  Managing 
Committee  of  seven.  It  is  interesting  to  notice  during  the  long 
career  of  the  Company  how  the  simple  machinery  thus  pro- 
vided was  adapted,  without  amendment,  in  carrying  out  the 
immense  projects  of  the  Company  during  the  two  and  a  quarter 
centuries  of  its  existence. 

The  grant  was  certainly  sufficiently  comprehensive.  The 
opponents  of  the  Company  in  later  days  mentioned  that  King 
Charles  gave  away  in  his  sweeping  phrase  a  vast  territory  of 


HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY   FOUNDED         15 

which  he  had  no  conception,  and  that  it  was  impossible  to 
transfer  property  which  could  not  be  described.  In  the  case 
of  the  English  Colonies  along  the  Atlantic  coast  it  was  held  by 
the  holders  of  the  charters  that  the  frontage  of  the  seaboard 
carried  with  it  the  strip  of  land  all  the  way  across  the  conti- 
nent. It  will  be  remembered  how,  in  the  settlement  with  the 
Commissioners  after  the  American  Revolution,  Lord  Shelburne 
spoke  of  this  theory  as  the  "  nonsense  of  the  charters."  The 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  always  very  successful  in  the 
maintenance  of  its  claim  to  the  full  privileges  of  the  Charter, 
and  until  the  time  of  the  surrender  of  its  territory  to  Canada 
kept  firm  possession  of  the  country  from  the  shore  of  Hudson 
Bay  even  to  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

The  generous  monarch  gave  the  Company  ' '  the  whole  trade 
of  all  those  seas,  streights,  and  bays,  rivers,  lakes,  creeks,  and 
sounds,  in  whatsoever  latitude  they  shall  be,  that  lie  within  the 
entrance  of  the  streights  commonly  called  Hudson's  Streights, 
together  with  all  the  lands,  countries,  and  territories  upon  the 
coasts  and  confines  of  the  seas,  streights,  bays,  lakes,  rivers, 
creeks,  and  sounds  aforesaid,  which  are  not  now  actually 
possessed  by  any  of  our  subjects,  or  by  the  subjects  of  any 
other  Christian  prince  or  State." 

The  wonderful  water  system  by  which  this  great  claim  was 
extended  over  so  vast  a  portion  of  the  American  continent  has 
been  often  described.  The  streams  running  from  near  the 
shore  of  Lake  Superior  find  their  way  by  Rainy  Lake,  Lake  of 
the  Woods,  and  Lake  Winnipeg,  then  by  the  River  Nelson,  to 
Hudson  Bay.  Into  Lake  Winnipeg,  which  acts  as  a  collecting 
basin  for  the  interior,  also  run  the  Red  River  and  mighty 
Saskatchewan,  the  latter  in  some  ways  rivalling  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  springing  from  the  very  heart  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. The  territory  thus  drained  was  all  legitimately  covered 
by  the  language  of  the  Charter.  The  tenacious  hold  of  its  vast 
domain  enabled  the  Company  to  secure  in  later  years  leases  of 
territory  lying  beyond  it  on  the  Arctic  and  Pacific  slopes.  In 
the  grant  thus  given  perhaps  the  most  troublesome  feature  was 
the  exclusion,  even  from  the  territory  granted,  of  the  portion 
"  possessed  by  the  subjects  of  any  other  Christian  prince  or 
State."  We  sh^ll  see  afterwards  that  within  less  than  twenty 


16  THE    HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

years  claims  were  made  by  the  French  of  a  portion  of  the 
country  on  the  south  side  of  the  Bay  ;  and  also  a  most 
strenuous  contention  was  put  forth  at  a  later  date  for  the 
French  explorers,  as  having  first  entered  in  the  territory  lying 
in  the  basin  of  the  Red  and  Saskatchewan  Rivers.  This  claim, 
indeed,  was  advanced  less  than*  fifty  years  ago  by  Canada 
as  the  possessor  of  the  rights  once  maintained  by  French 
Canada. 

The  grant  in  general  included  the  trade  of  the  country,  but 
is  made  more  specific  in  one  of  the  articles  of  the  Charter,  in 
that  "  the  fisheries  within  Hudson's  Str eights,  the  minerals, 
including  gold,  silver,  gems,  and  precious  stones,  shall  be 
possessed  by  the  Company."  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the 
country  thus  vaguely  described  is  recognized  as  one  of  the 
English  "  Plantations  or  Colonies  in  America/'  and  is  called, 
in  compliment  to  the  popular  Prince,  "  Rupert's  Land." 

Perhaps  the  most  astounding  gift  bestowed  by  the  Charter  is 
not  that  of  the  trade,  or  what  might  be  called,  in  the  phrase  of 
the  old  Roman  law,  the  "  usufruct,"  but  the  transfer  of  the 
vast  territory,  possibly  more  than  one  quarter  or  a  third  of  the 
whole  of  North  America,  to  hold  it  "  in  free  and  common 
socage,"  i.e.,  as  absolute  proprietors.  The  value  of  this  con- 
cession was  tested  in  the  early  years  of  this  century,  when  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  sold  to  the  Earl  of  Selkirk  a  portion 
of  the  territory  greater  in  area  than  the  whole  of  England  and 
Scotland  ;  and  in  this  the  Company  was  supported  by  the 
highest  legal  authorities  in  England. 

To  the  minds  of  some,  even  more  remarkable  than  the 
transfer  of  the  ownership  of  so  large  a  territory  was  the  con- 
ferring upon  the  Company  by  the  Crown  of  the  power  to  make 
laws,  not  only  for  their  own  forts  and  plantations,  with  all  their 
officers  and  servants,  but  having  force  over  all  persons  upon 
the  lands  ceded  to  them  so  absolutely. 

The  authority  to  administer  justice  is  also  given  in  no  un- 
certain terms.  The  officers  of  the  Company  "  may  have  power 
to  judge  all  persons  belonging  to  the  said  Governor  and  Com- 
pany, or  that  shall  live  under  them,  in  all  causes,  whether  civil 
or  criminal,  according  to  the  laws  of  this  kingdom,  and 
execute  justice  accordingly."  To  this  was  also  added  the 


HUDSON'S    BAY   COMPANY   FOUNDED        17 

power  of  sending  those  charged  with  offences  to  England  to  be 
tried  and  punished.  The  authorities,  in  the  course  of  time, 
availed  themselves  of  this  right.  We  shall  see  in  the  history 
of  the  Red  River  Settlement,  in  the  very  heart  of  Rupert's 
Land,  the  spectacle  of  a  community  of  several  thousands  of 
people  within  a  circle  having  a  radius  of  fifty  miles  ruled  by 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  authority,  with  the  customs  duties 
collected,  certain  municipal  institutions  established,  and  justice 
administered,  and  the  people  for  two  generations  not  possessed 
of  representative  institutions. 

One  of  the  powers  most  jealously  guarded  by  all  govern- 
ments is  the  control  of  military  expeditions.  There  is  a  settled 
unwillingness  to  allow  private  individuals  to  direct  or  influence 
them.  No  qualms  of  this  sort  seem  to  have  been  in  the  royal 
mind  over  this  matter  in  connection  with  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company.  The  Company  is  fully  empowered  in  the  Charter 
to  send  ships  of  war,  men,  or  ammunition  into  their  planta- 
tions, allowed  to  choose  and  appoint  commanders  and  officers, 
and  even  to  issue  them  their  commissions. 

There  is  a  ludicrous  ring  about  the  words  empowering  the 
Company  to  make  peace  or  war  with  any  prince  or  people 
whatsoever  that  are  not  Christians,  and  to  be  permitted  for 
this  end  to  build  all  necessary  castles  and  fortifications.  It 
seems  to  have  the  spirit  of  the  old  formula  leaving  Jews, 
Turks,  and  Saracens  to  the  uncovenanted  mercies  rather  than 
to  breathe  the  nobler  principles  of  a  Christian  land.  Surely, 
seldom  before  or  since  has  a  Company  gone  forth  thus  armed 
cap-b-pie  to  win  glory  and  profit  for  their  country. 

An  important  proviso  of  the  Charter,  which  was  largely 
a  logical  sequence  of  the  power  given  to  possess  the  wide 
territory,  was  the  grant  of  the  "  whole,  entire,  and  only  Liberty 
of  Trade  and  Traffick."  The  claim  of  a  complete  monopoly 
of  trade  was  held  most  strenuously  by  the  Company  from  the 
very  beginning.  The  early  history  of  the  Company  abounds 
with  accounts  of  the  steps  taken  to  prevent  the  incoming  of 
interlopers.  These  were  private  traders,  some  from  the 
English  colonies  in  America,  and  others  from  England,  who 
fitted  out  expeditions  to  trade  upon  the  Bay.  Full  power  was 
given  by  the  Charter  "  to  seize  upon  the  persons  of  all  such 
c 


18  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

English  or  any  other  subjects,  which  sail  into  Hudson's  Bay  or 
inhabit  in  any  of  the  countries,  islands,  or  territories 
granted  to  the  said  Governor  and  Company,  without  their 
leave  and  license  in  that  behalf  first  had  and  obtained." 

The  abstract  question  of  whether  such  monopoly  may 
rightly  be  granted  by  a  free  government  is  a  difficult  one,  and 
is  variously  decided  by  different  authorities.  The  "  free 
trader  "  was  certainly  a  person  greatly  disliked  in  the  early 
days  of  the  Company.  Frequent  allusions  are  made  in  the 
minutes  of  the  Company,  during  the  first  fifty  years  of  its 
existence,  to  the  arrest  and  punishment  of  servants  or  employes 
of  the  Company  who  secreted  valuable  furs  on  their  homeward 
voyage  for  the  purpose  of  disposing  of  them.  As  late  as  half  a 
century  ago,  in  the  more  settled  parts  of  Rupert's  Land,  on  the 
advice  of  a  judge  who  had  a  high  sense  of  its  prerogative,  an 
attempt  was  made  by  the  Company  to  prevent  private  trading 
in  furs.  Very  serious  local  disturbances  took  place  in  the  Red 
River  Settlement  at  that  time,  but  wiser  counsels  prevailed,  and 
in  the  later  years  of  the  Company's  regime  the  imperative 
character  of  the  right  was  largely  relaxed. 

The  Charter  fittingly  closes  with  a  commendation  of  the 
Company  by  the  King  to  the  good  ofiices  of  all  admirals, 
justices,  mayors,  sheriffs,  and  other  officers  of  the  Crown, 
enjoining  them  to  give  aid,  favour,  help,  and  assistance. 

With  such  extensive  powers,  the  wonder  is  that  the  Company 
bears,  on  the  whole,  after  its  long  career  over  such  an  extended 
area  of  operations,  and  among  savage  and  border  people  un- 
accustomed to  the  restraints  of  law,  so  honourable  a  record. 
Being  governed  by  men  of  high  standing,  many  of  them  closely 
associated  with  the  operations  of  government  at  home,  it  is 
very  easy  to  trace  how,  as  "  freedom  broadened  slowly  down  " 
from  Charles  II.  to  the  present  time,  the  method  of  dealing  with 
subjects  and  subordinates  became  more  and  more  gentle  and 
considerate.  As  one  reads  the  minutes  of  the  Company  in  the 
Hudson's  Bay  House  for  the  first  quarter  of  a  century  of  its 
history,  the  tyrannical  spirit,  even  so  far  at  the  removal  of 
troublesome  or  unpopular  members  of  the  Committee  and  the 
treatment  of  rivals,  is  very  evident. 

This  intolerance  was  of  the  spirit  of  the  age.     In  the  Restora- 


• 


A  It  MS    OF    THE    HUDSON'S    BAY   COMPANY. 


[Page  18 


HUDSON'S   BAY    COMPANY   FOUNDED        19 

tion,  the  Revolution,  and  the  trials  of  prisoners  after  rebellion, 
men  were  accustomed  to  the  exercise  of  the  severest  penalties 
for  the  crimes  committed.  As  the  spirit  of  more  gentle  ad- 
ministration of  law  found  its  way  into  more  peaceful  times 
the  Company  modified  its  policy. 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was,  it  is  true,  a  keen  trader, 
as  the  motto,  "  Pro  Pelle  Cutem  "— "  skin  for  skin  "—clearly 
implies.  With  this  no  fault  can  be  found,  the  more  that  its 
methods  were  nearly  all  honourable  British  methods.  It  never 
forgot  the  flag  that  floated  over  it.  One  of  the  greatest 
testimonies  in  its  favour  was  that,  when  two  centuries  after  its 
organization  it  gave  up,  except  as  a  purely  trading  company, 
its  power  to  Canada,  yet  its  authority  over  the  wide-spread 
Indian  population  of  Rupert's  Land  was  so  great,  that  it  was 
asked  by  the  Canadian  Government  to  retain  one-twentieth  of 
the  land  of  that  wide  domain  as  a  guarantee  of  its  assistance  in 
transferring  power  from  the  old  to  the  new  regime. 

The  Indian  had  in  every  part  of  Rupert's  Land  absolute  trust 
in  the  good  faith  of  the  Company.  To  have  been  the  possessor 
of  such  absolute  powers  as  those  given  by  the  Charter  ;  to  have 
on  the  whole  ' '  borne  their  faculties  so  meek  "  ;  to  have  been 
able  to  carry  on  government  and  trade  so  long  and  so  success- 
fully, is  not  so  much  a  commendation  of  the  royal  donor  of 
the  Charter  as  it  is  of  the  clemency  and  general  fairness  of  the 
administration,  which  entitled  it  not  only  officially  but  also 
really,  to  the  title  "  The  Honourable  Hudson's  Bay  Company." 


CHAPTER   III. 

METHODS   OF   TRADE. 

Rich  Mr.  Portman — Good  ship  Prince  Rupert — The  early  adventurers 
— "  Book  of  Common  Prayer  " — Five  forts — Voting  a  funeral — 
Worth  of  a  beaver — To  Hudson  Bay  and  back — Selling  the 
pelts — Bottles  of  sack — Fat  dividends — "  Victorious  as  Caesar  " — 
"  Golden  Fruit." 

THE  generation  that  lived  between  the  founding  of  the 
Company  and  the  end  of  the  century  saw  a  great  development 
in  the  trade  of  the  infant  enterprise.  Meeting  sometimes  at 
the  place  of  business  of  one  of  the  Committee,  and  afterwards 
at  hired  premises,  the  energetic  members  of  the  sub-committee 
paid  close  attention  to  their  work.  Sir  John  Robinson,  Sir 
John  Kirke,  and  Mr.  Portman  acted  as  one  such  executive, 
and  the  monthly,  and  at  times  weekly  meetings  of  the  Court  of 
Adventurers  were  held  when  they  were  needed.  It  brings  the 
past  very  close  to  us  as  we  read  the  minutes,  still  preserved  in 
the  Hudson's  Bay  House,  Leadenhall  Street,  London,  of  a 
meeting  at  Whitehall  in  1671,  with  His  Highness  Prince  Ru- 
pert in  the  chair,  and  find  the  sub-committee  appointed  to 
carry  on  the  business.  Captain  Gillam  for  a  number  of  years 
remained  in  the  service  of  the  Company  as  a  trusted  captain, 
and  commanded  the  ship  Prince  Rupert.  Another  vessel,  the 
Windingoo,  or  Wyvenhoe  Pinck,  was  soon  added,  also  in  time 
the  Moosongee  Dogger,  then  the  Shaftsbury,  the  Albemarle, 
and  the  Craven  Bark — the  last  three  named  from  prominent 
members  of  the  Company.  Not  more  than  three  of  these  ships 
were  in  use  at  the  same  time. 

The  fitting  out  of  these  ships  was  a  work  needing  much 
attention  from  the  sub-committee.  Year  after  year  its 
members  went  down  to  Gravesend  about  the  end  of  May,  saw 
the  goods  which  had  been  purchased  placed  aboard  the  ships, 

20 


METHODS    OF    TRADE 


21 


paid  the  captain  and  men  their  wages,  delivered  the  agents  to 
be  sent  out  their  commissions,  and  exercised  plenary  power  in 
regard  to  emergencies  which  arose.  The  articles  selected 
indicate  very  clearly  the  kind  of  trade  in  which  the  Company 
engaged.  The  inventory  of  goods  in  1672  shows  how  small  an 
affair  the  trade  at  first  was.  '  Two  hundred  fowling-pieces, 
and  powder  and  shot ;  200  brass  kettles,  size  from  five  to  six- 
teen gallons  ;  twelve  gross  of  knives  ;  900  or  1000  hatchets/' 
is  recorded  as  being  the  estimate  of  cargo  for  that  year. 

A  few  years,  however,  made  a  great  change.  Tobacco,  glass 
beads,  6,000  flints,  boxes  of  red  lead,  looking-glasses,  netting 
for  fishing,  pewter  dishes,  and  pewter  plates  were  added  to  the 
consignments.  That  some  attention  was  had  by  the  Company 
to  the  morals  of  their  employes  is  seen  in  that  one  ship's 
cargo  was  provided  with  "  a  book  of  common  prayer,  and  a 
book  of  homilies." 

About  June  1st,  the  ship,  or  ships,  sailed  from  the  Thames, 
rounded  the  North  of  Scotland,  and  were  not  heard  of  till 
October,  when  they  returned  with  their  valuable  cargoes.  Year 
after  year,  as  we  read  the  records  of  the  Company's  history, 
we  find  the  vessels  sailing  out  and  returning  with  the  greatest 
regularity,  and  few  losses  took  place  from  wind  or  weather 
during  that  time. 

The  agents  of  the  Company  on  the  Bay  seem  to  have  been 
well  selected  and  generally  reliable  men.  Certain  French 
writers  and  also  the  English  opponents  of  the  Company  have 
represented  them  as  timid  men,  afraid  to  leave  the  coast  and 
penetrate  to  the  interior,  and  their  conduct  has  been  contrasted 
with  that  of  the  daring,  if  not  reckless,  French  explorers.  It  is 
true  that  for  about  one  hundred  years  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  men  did  not  leave  the  shores  of  Hudson  Bay,  but 
what  was  the  need  so  long  as  the  Indians  came  to  the  coast 
with  their  furs  and  afforded  them  profitable  trade  !  By  the 
orders  of  the  Company  they  opened  up  trade  at  different  places 
on  the  shores  of  the  Bay,  and  we  learn  from  Oldmixon  that 
fifteen  years  after  the  founding  of  the  Company  there  were  forts 
established  at  (1)  Albany  River ;  (2)  Hayes  Island  ;  (3)  Rupert's 
River;  (4)  Port  Nelson;  (5)  New  Severn.  According  to 
another  authority,  Moose  River  takes  the  place  of  Hayes  Island 


22  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

in  this  list.  These  forts  and  factories,  at  first  primitive  and 
small,  were  gradually  increased  in  size  and  comfort  until  they 
became,  in  some  cases,  quite  extensive. 

The  plan  of  management  was  to  have  a  governor  appointed 
over  each  fort  for  a  term  of  years,  and  a  certain  number  of  men 
placed  under  his  direction.  In  the  first  year  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company's  operations  as  a  corporate  body,  Governor 
Charles  Bailey  was  sent  out  to  take  charge  of  Charles  Fort  at 
Rupert's  River.  With  him  was  associated  the  French  adven- 
turer, Radisson,  and  his  nephew,  Jean  Baptiste  Groseilliers. 
Bailey  seems  to  have  been  an  efficient  officer,  though  fault  was 
found  with  him  by  the  Company.  Ten  years  after  the  founding 
of  the  Company  he  died  in  London,  and  was  voted  a  funeral 
by  the  Company,  which  took  place  by  twilight  to  St.  Paul's, 
Covent  Garden.  The  widow  of  the  Governor  maintained  a 
contention  against  the  Company  for  an  allowance  of  400/., 
which  was  given  after  three  years'  dispute.  Another  Governor 
was  William  Lydall,  as  also  John  Bridgar,  Governor  of  the 
West  Main ;  and  again  Henry  Sargeant,  Thomas  Phipps, 
Governor  of  Fort  Nelson,  and  John  Knight,  Governor  of 
Albany,  took  an  active  part  in  the  disputes  of  the  Company 
with  the  French.  Thus,  with  a  considerable  amount  of  fric- 
tion, the  affairs  of  the  Company  were  conducted  on  the  new  and 
inhospitable  coast  of  Hudson  Bay. 

To  the  forte  from  the  vast  interior  of  North  America  the 
various  tribes  of  Indians,  especially  the  Crees,  Chipewyans, 
and  Eskimos,  brought  their  furs  for  barter.  No  doubt  the 
prices  were  very  much  in  favour  of  the  traders  at  first,  but 
during  the  first  generation  of  traders  the  competition  of  French 
traders  from  the  south  for  their  share  of  the  Indian  trade 
tended  to  correct  injustice  and  give  the  Indians  better  prices 
for  their  furs. 

The  following  is  the  standard  fixed  at  this  time  : — 

Guns twelve  winter  beaver  skins 

for  largest,  ten  for  me- 
dium, eight  for  smallest 

Powder  .  .     a  beaver  for  i  Ib. 

Shot      .          ....     a  beaver  for  4  Ibs. 

Hatchets  .  a  beaver  for  a  great  and 

little  hat 


METHODS    OF    TRADE  23 

Knives  ....     a     beaver    for    eight    great 

knives     and     eight     jack 
knives. 
....     a  beaver  for  £  Ib.  of  beads. 

Laced  coats  .         .         .six  beavers  for  one. 

Plain  coats  .        .         .five    beavers    for    one    plain 

red  coat. 

Coats  for  women,  laced,  2  yds.     six  beavers. 

Coats  for  women,  plain          .     five  beavers. 

Tobacco         ....     a  beaver  for  1  Ib. 

Powder-horn  .  .  .a  beaver  for  a  large  pow- 
der-horn and  two  small 
ones. 

Kettles  .         .         .         .a  beaver  for  1  Ib.  of  kettle. 

Looking-glass  and  comb         .    ^wo  skins. 

The  trade  conducted  at  the  posts  or  factories  along  the  shore 
was  carried  on  by  the  local  traders  so  soon  as  the  rivers  from 
the  interior — the  Nelson  and  the  Churchill — were  open,  so  that 
by  the  time  the  ship  from  London  arrived,  say  in  the  end  of 
July  or  beginning  of  August,  the  Indians  were  beginning  to 
reach  the  coast.  The  month  of  August  was  a  busy  month,  and 
by  the  close  of  it,  or  early  in  September,  the  ship  was  loaded 
and  sent  back  on  her  journey. 

By  the  end  of  October  the  ships  arrived  from  Hudson  Bay, 
and  the  anxiety  of  the  Company  to  learn  how  the  season's 
trade. had  succeeded  was  naturally  very  great.  As  soon  as  the 
vessels  had  arrived  in  the  Downs  or  at  Portsmouth,  word  was 
sent  post  haste  to  London,  and  the  results  were  laid  before  a 
Committee  of  the  Company.  Much  reference  is  made  in  the 
minutes  to  the  difficulty  of  preventing  the  men  employed  in  the 
ships  from  entering  into  illicit  trade  in  furs.  Strict  orders 
were  given  to  inspect  the  lockers  for  furs  to  prevent  private 
trade.  In  due  time  the  furs  were  unladen  from  the  ships  and 
put  into  the  custody  of  the  Company's  secretary  in  the  London 
warehouse. 

The  matter  of  selling  the  furs  was  one  of  very  great  import- 
ance. At  times  the  Company  found  prices  low,  and  deferred 
their  sales  until  the  outlook  was  more  favourable.  The  method 
followed  was  to  have  an  auction,  and  every  precaution  was 
taken  to  have  the  sales  fair  and  aboveboard.  Evidences  are 
not  wanting  that  at  times  it  was  difficult  for  the  Court  of 
Adventurers  to  secure  this  very  desirable  result. 


24  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

The  matter  was  not,  however,  one  of  dry  routine,  for  the 
London  merchants  seem  to  have  encouraged  business  with 
generous  hospitality.  On  November  9th,  1681,  the  sale  took 
place,  and  the  following  entry  is  found  in  the  minutes  :  "A 
Committee  was  appointed  to  provide  three  dozen  bottles  of 
sack  and  three  dozen  bottles  of  claret,  to  be  given  to  buyers 
at  ye  sale.  Dinner  was  also  bespoken  at  '  Ye  Stillyard/  of  a 
good  dish  of  fish,  a  loyne  of  veal,  two  pullets,  and  four  ducks." 

As  the  years  went  on,  the  same  variations  in  furs  that  we 
see  in  our  day  took  place.  New  markets  were  then  looked  for 
and  arrangements  made  for  sending  agents  to  Holland  and 
finding  the  connections  in  Russia,  that  sales  might  be  effected. 
In  order  to  carry  out  the  trade  it  was  necessary  to  take  large 
quantities  of  hemp  from  Holland  in  return  for  the  furs  sent. 
The  employment  of  this  article  for  cordage  in  the  Navy  led  to 
the  influence  of  important  members  of  the  Company  being  used 
with  the  Earl  of  Marlborough  to  secure  a  sale  for  this  com- 
modity. Pending  the  sales  it  was  necessary  for  large  sums  of 
money  to  be  advanced  to  carry  on  the  business  of  the  Com- 
pany. This  was  generally  accomplished  by  the  liberality  of 
members  of  the  Company  itself  supplying  the  needed  amounts. 

The  Company  was,  however,  from  time  to  time  gratified  by 
the  declaration  of  handsome  dividends.  So  far  as  recorded, 
the  first  dividend  was  declared  in  1684,  and  judged  by  modern 
standards  it  was  one  for  which  a  company  might  well  wait  for 
a  number  of  years.  It  was  for  50  per  cent,  upon  stock. 
Accordingly,  the  Earl  of  Craven  received  150?.,  Sir  James 
Hayes  150/.,  and  so  on  in  proportion.  In  1688  another  divi- 
dend of  a  like  amount  of  50  per  cent,  on  the  stock  resulted, 
and  among  others,  Hon.  Robert  Boyle,  Earl  Churchill,  and  Sir 
Christopher  Wren  had  their  hearts  gladdened.  In  1689 
profits  to  the  extent  of  25  per  cent,  on  the  stock  were  received, 
and  one  of  the  successful  captains  was,  in  the  exuberance  of 
feeling  of  the  stock-holders,  presented  with  a  silver  flagon  in 
recognition  of  his  services.  In  1690,  however,  took  place  by 
far  the  most  remarkable  event  of  a  financial  kind  in  the  early 
history  of  the  Company.  The  returns  of  that  year  from  the 
Bay  were  so  large  that  the  Company  decided  to  treble  its  stock. 
The  reasons  given  for  this  were  : — 


METHODS    OF    TRADE  25 

(1)  The  Company  has  in  its  warehouse  about  the  value  of 
its  original  stock  (10,500Z.).  (2)  The  factories  at  Fort  Nelson 
and  New  Severn  are  increasing  in  trade,  and  this  year  the 
returns  are  expected  to  be  20,000/.  in  beaver.  (3)  The  fac- 
tories are  of  much  value.  (4)  Damages  are  expected  from  the 
French  for  a  claim  of  100,OOOJ. 

The  Company  then  proceeded  to  declare  a  dividend  of  25  per 
cent.,  which  was  equivalent  to  75  per  cent,  on  their  original 
stock. 

It  was  a  pleasing  incident  to  the  sovereign  of  the  realm  that 
in  all  these  profits  he  was  not  forgotten.  In  the  original 
Charter  the  only  recompense  coming  to  the  Crown,  for  the 
royal  gift,  was  to  be  the  payment,  when  the  territory  was 
entered  upon,  of ' '  two  elks  and  two  black  beavers."  This  may 
have  been  a  device  for  keeping  up  the  royal  claim,  but  at  any 
rate  3001.  in  the  original  stock-book  stood  to  the  credit  of  the 
sovereign.  It  had  been  the  custom  to  send  a  deputation  to 
present  in  person  the  dividends  to  His  Majesty,  and  the 
pounds  sterling  were  always  changed  to  guineas. 

On  this  occasion  of  the  great  dividend,  King  William  III. 
had  but  lately  returned  from  his  victories  in  Ireland.  The 
deputation,  headed  by  Sir  Edward  Bering,  was  introduced  to 
the  King  by  the  Earl  of  Portland,  and  the  following  address, 
hitherto,  so  far  as  known  to  the  writer,  unpublished,  was 
presented  along  with  the  noble  gift : — 

"  Your  Majestie's  most  Loyal  and  Dutiful  subjects  beg  leave 
to  congratulate  your  Majestie's  Happy  Eeturn  here  with 
Honor  and  Safety.  And  we  do  daily  pray  to  Heaven  (that 
Hath  God  wonderfully  preserved  your  Royall  Person)  that  in 
all  your  undertakings  Your  Majestie  may  be  as  victorious  as 
Caesar,  as  beloved  as  Titus,  and  (after  all)  have  the  long  and 
glorious  Reigne  and  Peacefull  end  of  Augustus. 

"  On  this  happy  occasion  we  desire  also  most  humbly  to 
present  to  your  Majestie  a  dividend  of  Two  Hundred  and 
twenty-five  guineas  upon  three  hundred  pounds  stock  in  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  now  Rightfully  delivered  to  your 
Majestie.  And  although  we  have  been  the  greatest  sufferers 
of  any  Company  from  those  common  enemies  of  all  mankind  the 
French,  yet  when  your  Majestie's  just  Arms  shall  have  given 


26  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Repose  to  all  Christendom,  we  also  shall  enjoy  our  share  of 
these  great  Benefits  and  do  not  doubt  but  to  appeare  often 
with  this  golden  fruit  in  our  hands,  under  the  happy  influence 
of  Your  Majestie's  most  gracious  protection  over  us  and  all  our 
Concerns." 

It  is  true  that  towards  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
as  we  shall  afterwards  see,  the  trade  of  the  Company  was 
seriously  injured  by  the  attacks  of  the  French  on  the  Bay,  but 
a  quarter  of  a  century  in  which  the  possibility  of  obtaining 
such  profits  had  been  shown  was  sufficient  to  establish  the 
Company  in  the  public  favour  and  to  attract  to  it  much 
capital.  Its  careful  management  from  the  first  led  to  its 
gaining  a  reputation  for  business  ability  which  it  has  never 
lost  during  two  and  a  quarter  centuries  of  its  history. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THREE   GREAT   GOVERNORS. 

Men  of  high  station— Prince  Rupert  primus— Prince  James,  "  nemine 
contradicente  " — The  hero  of  the  hour— Churchill  River  named- 
Plate  of  solid  gold — Off  to  the  Tower. 

THE  success  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  the  influence 
exerted  by  it  during  so  long  a  period,  has  often  been  attributed 
to  the  union  of  persons  of  station  and  high  political  influence 
with  the  practical  and  far-seeing  business  men  of  London,  who 
made  up  the  Company.  A  perusal  of  the  minutes  of  the  first 
thirty  years  of  the  Company's  history  impresses  on  the  mind 
of  the  reader  that  this  is  true,  and  that  good  feeling  and 
patriotism  were  joined  with  business  tact  and  enterprise  in  all 
the  ventures.  From  the  prosperous  days  of  Queen  Elizabeth 
and  her  sea-going  captains  and  explorers,  certainly  from  the 
time  of  Charles  II.,  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  to  see  the  titled 
and  commercial  classes  co-operating,  in  striking  contrast  to 
the  governing  classes  of  France,  in  making  commerce  and 
trade  a  prominent  feature  of  the  national  life. 

The  first  Governor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  Rupert, 
Prince  of  Bavaria,  grandson  by  the  mother's  side  of  James  I. 
of  England,  is  a  sufficiently  well-known  character  in  general 
history  to  require  no  extended  notice.  His  exploits  on  the 
Royalist  side  in  the  Civil  War,  his  fierce  charges  and  his  swift- 
ness in  executing  difficult  military  movements,  led  to  his  name 
being  taken  as  the  very  embodiment  of  energy  and  prowess. 
In  this  sense  the  expression,  "  the  fiery  Rupert  of  debate  " 
was  applied  to  a  prominent  parliamentarian  of  the  past 
generation. 

After  the  restoration  of  Charles  II.,  Prince  Rupert  took  up 

27 


28  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

his  abode  in  England,  finding  it  more  like  home  to  him  than 
any  Continental  country.  Enjoying  the  plaudits  of  the  Cava- 
liers, for  whom  he  had  so  strenuously  fought,  he  was  appointed 
Constable  of  Windsor,  a  no  very  onerous  position.  From  the 
minutes  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  we  find  that  he  had 
lodgings  at  Whitehall,  and  spent  much  of  his  time  in  business 
and  among  scientific  circles — indeed,  the  famous  toys  called 
"glass  tears/'  or  "Rupert's  drops,"  were  brought  over  by 
him  to  England  from  the  Continent  to  interest  his  scientific 
friends. 

We  have  seen  already  the  steps  taken  by  the  returned  Com- 
missioners from  the  American  Colonies  to  introduce  Radisson 
and  Groseilliers  to  Prince  Rupert,  and  through  him  to  the 
royal  notice. 

The  success  of  the  expedition  of  Gillam  and  the  building  of 
Charles  Fort  on  Hudson  Bay  led  to  the  Prince  consenting  to 
head  the  new  Company.  He  had  just  passed  the  half  century 
of  his  age  when  he  was  appointed  Governor  of  the  vast  terra 
incognita  lying  to  the  west  of  the  Bay  to  which,  in  his  honour, 
was  given  the  name  Rupert's  Land. 

The  Company  lost  no  time  in  undertaking  a  new  expedition. 
Prince  Rupert's  intimate  friend,  the  Earl  of  Craven,  was  one 
of  the  incorporators,  and  it  was  with  this  nobleman  that  Prince 
Rupert's  widowed  mother,  the  Princess  Elizabeth,  had  found 
a  home  in  the  days  of  adversity. 

The  close  connection  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  with 
the  Court  gave  it,  we  see  very  plainly,  certain  important  advan- 
tages. Not  only  do  the  generous  terms  of  the  Charter  indicate 
this,  but  the  detailing  of  certain  ships  of  the  Royal  Navy  to 
protect  the  merchantmen  going  out  to  Hudson  Bay  shows  the 
strong  bond  of  sympathy.  Certainly  nothing  less  than  the 
thorough  interest  of  the  Court  could  have  led  to  the  firm  stand 
taken  by  the  English  Government  in  the  controversies  with 
France  as  to  the  possession  of  Hudson  Bay. 

Several  excellent  paintings  of  the  Prince  are  in  existence, 
one  by  Vandyke  in  Warwick  Castle,  showing  his  handsome 
form,  and  another  in  Knebworth,  Hertford.  The  Prince  was 
unfortunately  not  free  from  the  immorality  that  was  so 
flagrant  a  feature  of  the  Court  of  Charles  II.  At  that  time  this 


THREE   GREAT   GOVERNORS  2g 

was  but  little  taken  into  account,  and  the  fame  of  his  military 
exploits,  together  with  the  fixing  of  his  name  upon  so  wide  an 
extent  of  the  earth's  surface,  have  served  to  give  posterity  an 
interest  in  him. 

For  twelve  successive  years  Prince  Eupert  was  chosen 
Governor  at  the  General  Court  of  Adventurers,  and  used  his 
great  influence  for  the  Company.  He  died  on  November  29th, 
1682,  at  the  comparatively  early  age  of  sixty-three. 

The  death  of  the  first  Governor  was  a  somewhat  severe  trial 
for  the  infant  Company.  The  Prince's  name  had  been  one  to 
conjure  by,  and  though  he  had  been  ably  supported  by  the 
Deputy-Governor,  Sir  James  Hayes,  yet  there  was  some 
fear  of  loss  of  prestige  to  the  Adventurers  on  his  unexpected 
death. 

The  members  of  the  Company  were  anxious  to  keep  up,  if 
possible,  the  royal  connection,  but  they  were  by  no  means 
clear  as  to  the  choice  of  the  only  available  personage  who  came 
before  their  view.  James,  Duke  of  York,  was  a  man  with  a 
liking  for  business,  but  he  was  not  a  popular  favourite.  The 
famous  jeu  d 'esprit  of  Charles  II.  will  be  remembered.  When 
James  informed  Charles  II.  that  there  was  a  conspiracy  on 
foot  to  drive  him  from  the  throne,  "  No,  James,"  said  Charles, 
"  they  will  never  kill  me  to  make  you  king." 

The  minutes  of  the  Company  show  that  much  deliberation 
took  place  as  to  the  choice  of  a  successor  to  Prince  Rupert, 
but  at  length,  in  January,  1683,  at  a  General  Court,  the  choice 
was  made,  and  the  record  reads  : — "  His  Royal  Highness  the 
Duke  of  York  was  chosen  Governor  of  the  Company,  Nemine 
contradicente.'"  The  new  Governor  soon  had  reasons  to 
congratulate  himself  on  his  election,  for  on  April  21st,  1684, 
Sir  James  Hayes  and  Sir  Edward  Dering  reported  to  the 
Adventurers  their  having  paid  150  guineas  to  His  Royal  High- 
ness as  a  dividend  on  the  stock  held  by  him.  Prince  James 
was  chosen  Governor  for  three  successive  years,  until  the  year 
when,  on  the  death  of  Charles,  he  became  King.  While  James 
was  not  much  in  favour  as  a  man,  yet  he  possessed  decided 
administrative  ability,  and  whether  this  was  the  cause  or  not, 
certainly  the  period  of  his  governorship  was  a  successful  time 
in  the  history  of  the  Company. 


30  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Failing  a  prince  or  duke,  the  lot  could  not  have  fallen  upon 
a  more  capable  man  than  was  chosen  as  the  Duke  of  York's 
successor  for  the  governorship.  On  April  2nd,  1685,  at  a 
General  Court  of  the  Adventurers,  the  choice  fell  upon  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  men  of  his  time,  the  Right  Hon.  John 
Lord  Churchill,  afterwards  Duke  of  Marlborough.  Lord 
Churchill  had  not  yet  gained  any  of  his  great  victories.  He 
was,  however,  at  this  time  a  favourite  of  the  Duke  of  York, 
and  no  doubt,  on  the  recommendation  of  James,  had  been 
brought  before  the  Court  of  Adventurers.  He  was  one  of  the 
most  adroit  men  of  his  time,  he  was  on  the  highway  to  the  most 
distinguished  honours,  and  the  Adventurers  gladly  elected  him 
third  governor. 

On  April  2nd,  1685,  the  new  governor  threw  himself  heartily 
into  the  work  of  the  Company.  No  doubt  one  so  closely 
connected  with  the  public  service  could  be  of  more  practical 
value  than  even  a  royal  duke.  The  great  dividend  of  which 
we  have  already  spoken  followed  the  years  of  his  appointment. 

The  success  attained  but  stimulated  the  Company  to  increase 
their  trade  and  widen  the  field  of  their  operations.  The  river 
running  into  the  west  side  of  the  Bay,  far  to  the  north,  was 
named  in  honour  of  the  new  governor,  Churchill  River,  and  in 
1686  expansion  of  trade  was  sought  by  the  decision  to  settle  at 
the  mouth  of  this  river  and  use  it  as  a  new  trading  centre  for 
the  north  and  west.  Without  any  desire  to  annoy  the  French, 
who  claimed  the  south  end  of  the  Bay,  it  was  determined  to 
send  a  ship  to  the  southern  part  of  Hudson  Bay,  and  a  few 
months  later  the  Yonge  frigate  was  dispatched.  The  fear  of 
attacks  from  the  French,  who  were  known  to  be  in  a  very  rest- 
less condition,  led  to  the  request  being  made  to  the  Government 
to  station  a  military  force  at  each  fort  in  Hudson  Bay.  It  was 
also  the  desire  of  the  Company  that  steps  should  be  taken  to 
protect  them  in  their  Charter  rights  and  to  prevent  illegal 
expeditions  from  going  to  trade  in  the  Bay.  All  this  shows  the 
energy  and  hopefulness  of  the  Company  under  the  leadership 
of  Lord  Churchill. 

The  part  taken  by  Lord  Churchill  in  the  opposition  to 
James,  and  his  active  agency  in  inducing  William  of  Orange 
to  come  to  England,  are  well  known.  He  was  a  worshipper  of 


THREE    GREAT   GOVERNORS  31 

the  rising  sun.  On  the  arrival  of  William  III.,  Lord  Churchill, 
who  was  soon  raised  to  the  peerage  as  Earl  of  Marlborough, 
was  as  popular,  for  the  time,  with  the  new  king  as  he  had  been 
with  his  predecessor.  His  zeal  is  seen  in  his  sending  out  in 
June,  1689,  as  governor,  the  instructions  that  William  and 
Mary  should  be  proclaimed  in  the  posts  upon  the  shores  of 
Hudson  Bay.  He  was  able  shortly  after  to  report  to  his 
Company  that  100  marines  had  been  detailed  to  protect  the 
Company's  ships  on  their  way  to  Hudson  Bay.  The  enthu- 
siasm of  the  Company  at  this  mark  of  consideration  obtained 
through  the  influence  of  Lord  Churchill,  was  very  great,  and 
we  learn  from  the  minutes  that  profuse  thanks  were  given  to 
the  governor,  and  a  piece  of  plate  of  solid  gold,  of  the  value  of 
100  guineas,  was  presented  to  him  for  his  distinguished  services. 
Legislation  was  also  introduced  at  this  time  into  Parliament 
for  the  purpose  of  giving  further  privileges  to  the  Adventurers, 

But  the  rising  tide  of  fortune  was  suddenly  checked. 
Disaster  overtook  the  Governor.  William  had  found  some 
reason  for  distrusting  this  versatile  man  of  affairs,  and  he 
suspected  him  of  being  in  correspondence  with  the  dethroned 
James.  No  doubt  the  suspicion  was  well  founded,  but  the 
King  had  thought  it  better,  on  account  of  Marlborough's  great 
talents,  to  overlook  his  unfaithfulness.  Suddenly,  in  May, 
1692,  England  was  startled  by  hearing  that  the  Earl  of 
Marlborough  had  been  thrown  into  the  Tower  on  an  accusa- 
tion of  high  treason.  For  seven  years  this  determined 
soldier  had  led  the  Company  to  success,  but  his  imprisonment 
rendered  a  change  in  the  governorship  a  necessity.  Marl- 
borough  was  only  imprisoned  for  a  short  time,  but  he  was  not 
re-elected  to  the  position  he  had  so  well  filled.  At  the  General 
Court  of  Adventurers  in  November  of  the  year  of  Marlborough's 
fall,  Sir  Stephen  Evance  was  chosen  Governor.  This  gentle- 
man was  re-elected  a  number  of  times,  and  was  Governor  of 
the  Company  at  the  close  of  the  century. 

Two  decades,  and  more,  of  the  formative  life  of  the  Company 
were  thus  lived  under  the  aegis  of  the  Court,  the  personal 
management  of  two  courtly  personages,  and  under  the 
guidance  of  the  leading  general  of  his  time.  As  we  shall  see 
afterwards,  during  a  part  of  this  period  the  affairs  of  the 


32  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Company  were  carried  on  in  the  face  of  the  constant  opposi- 
tion of  the  French.  Undoubtedly  heavy  losses  resulted  from 
the  French  rivalry,  but  the  pluck  and  wisdom  of  the  Com- 
pany were  equally  manifested  in  the  confidence  with  which 
they  risked  their  means,  and  the  strong  steps  taken  to  retain 
their  hold  on  Hudson  Bay.  This  was  the  golden  age  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company.  When  money  was  needed  it  was 
often  cheerfully  advanced  by  some  of  the  partners  ;  it  was  an 
honour  to  have  stock  in  a  Company  which  was  within  the 
shadow  of  the  throne  ;  its  distinguished  Governors  were  re- 
elected  so  long  as  they  were  eligible  to  serve  ;  again  and  again 
the  Committee,  provided  with  a  rich  purse  of  golden  guineas, 
waited  on  His  Majesty  the  King  to  give  return  for  the  favour 
of  the  Royal  Charter  ;  and  never  afterward  can  the  historian 
point  in  the  annals  of  the  Company  to  so  distinguished  a  period. 


CHAPTER   V. 

TWO    ADROIT   ADVENTURERS. 

Peter  Radisson  and  "  Mr.  Gooseberry  "  again — Radisson  v.  Gillam— • 
Back  to  France — A  wife's  influence — Paltry  vessels— Radisson's 
diplomacy — Deserts  to  England — Shameful  duplicity — "  A  hogs- 
head of  claret  " — Adventurers  appreciative — Twenty-five  years  of 
Radisson's  life  hitherto  unknown — "  In  a  low  and  mean  condi- 
tion " — The  Company  in  Chancery — Lucky  Radisson — A  Company 
pensioner. 

A  MYSTERIOUS  interest  gathers  around  two  of  the  most  in- 
dustrious and,  it  must  be  added,  most  diplomatic  and  adroit  of 
the  agents  of  the  Company,  the  two  Frenchmen,  Pierre  Esprit 
Radisson  and  Medard  Chouart,  afterwards  the  Sieur  de  Gro- 
seilliers.  Acquainted  with  the  far  northern  fur  trade,  their 
assistance  was  invaluable.  We  have  seen  in  a  former  chapter 
that  finding  little  encouragement  either  in  New  France  or  their 
mother  country,  they  had  transferred  their  services  to  England, 
and  were  largely  instrumental  in  founding  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company. 

In  the  first  voyage  of  the  adventurers  to  Hudson's  Bay,  it 
came  about  that  while  Groseilliers  was  lucky  in  being  on  the 
Nonsuch  ketch,  which  made  its  way  into  the  Bay,  on  the  other 
hand,  Radisson,  to  his  great  chagrin,  was  on  board  the  com- 
panion ship,  the  Eaglet,  which,  after  attempting  an  entrance 
and  failing,  returned  to  England. 

It  has  been  stated  that  during  the  time  of  his  enforced 
idleness  in  London,  while  the  party  was  building  Charles  Fort 
on  Prince  Rupert's  River,  Radisson  was  busy  interesting  the 
leading  men  of  the  city  in  the  importance  of  the  adventure. 
Immediately  on  the  return  of  the  company  of  the  Nonsuch, 
steps  were  taken  for  the  organization  of.  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company.  This,  as  we  have  seen,  took  place  in  May,  1670, 
D  33 


34  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

and  in  the  same  year  Radisson  and  Groseilliers  went  out 
with  Governor  Bailey,  and  assisted  in  establishing  trade  on 
the  shores  of  the  Bay. 

On  their  return,  in  the  autumn  of  1671,  to  London,  the  two 
adventurers  spent  the  winter  there,  and,  as  the  minutes  of  the 
Company  show,  received  certain  money  payments  for  their 
maintenance.  In  October,  1673,  the  sloop  Prince  Rupert  had 
arrived  at  Portsmouth  from  Hudson  Bay,  and  there  are 
evidences  of  friction  between  Radisson  and  Captain  Gillam. 
Radisson  is  called  on  to  be  present  at  a  meeting  of  the  General 
Court  of  the  Company  held  in  October,  and  afterwards  Gillam 
is  authorized  to  advance  the  amounts  necessary  for  his  living 
expenses. 

In  the  Company  minutes  of  June  25th,  1674,  is  found  the 
following  entry  : — "  That  there  be  allowed  to  Mr.  Radisson 
100  pounds  per  annum  from  the  time  of  his  last  arrival  in 
London,  in  consideration  of  services  done  by  him,  out  of  which 
to  be  deducted  what  hath  been  already  paid  him  since  that 
time,  and  if  it  shall  please  God  to  bless  this  Company  with  good 
success  hereafter  that  they  shall  come  to  be  in  a  prosperous 
condition  they  will  then  re-assume  the  consideration 
thereof." 

During  the  next  month  a  further  sum  was  paid  Radisson. 

The  restless  Radisson  could  not,  however,  be  satisfied.  No 
doubt  he  felt  his  services  to  be  of  great  value,  and  he  now 
illustrated  what  was  really  the  weakness  of  his  whole  life,  a 
want  of  honest  reliability.  The  Company  had  done  as  well  for 
him  as  its  infant  resources  would  allow,  but  along  with  Gro- 
seilliers he  deserted  from  London,  and  sought  to  return  to  the 
service  of  France  under  the  distinguished  Prime  Minister 
Colbert. 

The  shrewd  Colbert  knew  well  Radisson's  instability.  This 
feature  of  his  character  had  been  further  emphasized  by 
another  event  in  Radisson's  life.  He  had  married  a  daughter 
of  Sir  John  Kirke,  one  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  pro- 
moters, and  a  member  of  the  well-known  family  which  had 
distinguished  itself  in  the  capture  of  Canada,  nearly  fifty  years 
before.  This  English  and  domestic  connection  made  Colbert 
suspicious  of  Radisson.  However,  he  agreed  to  pay  Radisson 


TWO    ADROIT   ADVENTURERS  35 

and  Groseilliers  the  sum  of  their  debts,  amounting  to  400Z., 
and  to  give  them  lucrative  employment.  The  condition  of  his 
further  employment  was  that  Radisson  should  bring  his  wife  to 
France,  but  lie  was  unable  to  get  either  his  wife  or  her  father 
to  consent  to  this.  The  Kirke  family,  it  must  be  remembered, 
were  still  owners  of  a  claim  amounting  to  341,OOOZ.  against 
France,  which  had  been  left  unsettled  during  the  time  of 
Champlain,  when  England  restored  Canada  to  France. 

For  seven  years  Radisson  vacillated  between  the  two 
countries.  Under  the  French  he  went  for  one  season  on  a 
voyage  to  the  West  Indies,  and  was  even  promised  promotion 
in  the  French  marine.  At  one  time  he  applied  again  to  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  for  employment,  but  was  refused. 
The  fixed  determination  of  his  wife  not  to  leave  England  on 
the  one  hand,  and  the  settled  suspicion  of  the  French  Govern- 
ment on  the  other,  continually  thwarted  him.  At  length,  in 
1681,  Radisson  and  Groseilliers  were  sent  by  the  French  to 
Canada,  to  undertake  a  trading  expedition  to  Hudson  Bay. 
The  lack  of  money,  and  also  of  full  confidence,  led  to  their 
venture  being  poorly  provided  for.  In  July,  1682,  rendezvous 
was  made  at  He  Percee,  in  the  lower  St.  Lawrence,  by  Radisson 
in  a  wretched  old  vessel  of  ten  tons,  and  by  Groseilliers  in  a 
rather  better  craft  of  fifteen  tons  burthen. 

No  better  could  be  done,  however,  and  so,  after  many 
mishaps,  including  serious  mutinies,  dangers  of  ice  and  flood, 
and  hairbreadth  escapes,  the  two  vessels  reached  the  mouth  of 
the  Hayes  River  on  Hudson  Bay.  They  determined  to  trade 
at  this  point.  Groseilliers  undertook  to  build  a  small  fort  on 
this  river,  and  Radisson  went  inland  on  a  canoe  expedition  to 
meet  the  natives.  In  this  Radisson  was  fairly  successful  and 
gathered  a  good  quantity  of  furs. 

The  French  adventurers  were  soon  surprised  to  find  that  an 
English  party  had  taken  possession  of  the  mouth  of  the  Nelson 
River,  and  were  establishing  a  fort.  Radisson  opened  com- 
munication with  the  English,  and  found  them  in  charge  of 
Governor  Bridgar,  but  really  led  by  young  Gfflam,  son  of  the 
old  captain  of  the  Nonsuch.  The  versatile  Frenchman  soon 
met  a  fine  field  for  his  diplomatic  arts.  He  professed  great 
friendship  for  the  new  comers,  exchanged  frequent  visits  with 


36  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

them,  and  became  acquainted  with  all  their  affairs.  Finding 
the  English  short  of  provisions,  he  supplied  their  lack  most 
generously,  and  offered  to  render  them  any  service. 

Governor  Bridgar  was  entirely  unable  to  cope  with  the  wiles 
of  Radisson.  Matters  were  so  arranged  that  Jean  Baptiste 
Groseilliers,  his  nephew,  was  left  in  charge  of  the  forts,  to 
carry  on  the  trade  during  the  next  winter,  and  with  his  brother- 
in-law,  Groseilliers,  and  Governor  Bridgar,  somewhat  of  a 
voluntary  prisoner,  Radisson  sailed  away  to  Canada  in  Gillam's 
ship.  On  reaching  Canada  Governor  De  la  Barre  restored  the 
ship  to  the  English,  and  in  it  Bridgar  and  Gillam  sailed  to 
New  England,  whence  in  due  time  they  departed  for  England. 
The  whole  affair  has  a  Quixotic  appearance,  and  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  Radisson  and  Groseilliers  were  summoned  to 
report  themselves  to  Colbert  in  France  and  to  receive  his 
marked  displeasure.  Their  adventure  had,  however,  been  so 
successful,  and  the  prospects  were  so  good,  that  the  French 
Government  determined  to  send  them  out  again,  in  two 
ships,  to  reap  the  fruits  of  the  winter's  work  of  the  younger 
Groseilliers. 

Now  occurred  another  of  Radisson's  escapades.  The  French 
expedition  was  ready  to  start  in  April.  The  day  (24th)  was 
fixed.  Radisson  asked  for  delay,  pleading  important  private 
business  in  England.  On  May  10th  he  arrived  in  England, 
and  we  find  him,  without  any  compunction,  entering  into 
negotiations  with  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  as  a  result 
playing  the  traitor  to  his  engagements  in  France,  his  native 
country. 

The  entry  in  the  Company's  minutes  bearing  on  this  affair 
is  as  follows  : — 

"  May  IWi,  1684. 

"  Sir  James  Hayes  and  Mr.  Young,  that  Peter  Esprit  Radis- 
son has  arrived  from  France  ;  that  he  has  offered  to  enter  their 
service  ;  that  they  took  him  to  Windsor  and  presented  him  to 
His  Royal  Highness  ;  that  they  had  agreed  to  give  him  5(M. 
per  annum,  200/.  worth  of  stock,  and  201.  to  set  him  up  to 
proceed  to  Port  Nelson  ;  and  his  brother  (in-law)  Groseilliers 
to  have  205.  per  week,  if  he  come  from  France  over  to  Britain 


TWO    ADROIT   ADVENTURERS  37 

and  be  true.  Radisson  took  the  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  Com- 
pany." 

A  few  days  later  Radisson  took  the  ship  Happy  Return  to 
Hudson  Bay.  Sailing  immediately  to  Hayes  River,  Radisson 
found  that  his  nephew,  J.  Baptiste  Groseilliers,  had  removed 
his  post  to  an  island  in  the  river.  On  his  being  reached, 
Radisson  explained  to  him  the  change  that  had  taken  place, 
and  that  he  proposed  to  transfer  everything,  establishment  and 
peltry,  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  Young  Groseilliers, 
being  loyal  to  France,  objected  to  this,  but  Radisson  stated 
that  there  was  no  option,  and  he  would  be  compelled  to  submit. 
The  whole  quantity  of  furs  transferred  to  Radisson  by  his 
nephew  was  20,000 — an  enormous  capture  for  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company.  In  the  autumn  Radisson  returned  in  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company's  ship,  bringing  the  great  store  of 
booty. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Committee  of  the  Company  (Octo- 
ber 7th),  "  a  packet  was  read  from  Pierre  Radisson  showing 
how  he  had  brought  his  countrymen  to  submit  to  the  English. 
He  was  thanked,  and  a  gratuity  of  100  guineas  given  him." 
It  is  also  stated  that  "  a  promise  having  been  made  of  20s.  per 
week  to  Groseilliers,  and  he  not  having  come,  the  same  is 
transferred  to  his  son  in  the  bay."  The  minute  likewise  tells 
us  that  "  Sir  William  Young  was  given  a  present  of  seven 
musquash  skins  for  being  instrumental  in  inviting  Radisson 
over  from  France."  From  this  we  infer  that  Sir  William,  who, 
as  we  shall  afterwards  see,  was  a  great  friend  and  promoter  of 
Radisson,  had  been  the  active  agent  in  inducing  Radisson  to 
leave  the  service  of  France  and  enter  that  of  the  English 
Company. 

The  Company  further  showed  its  appreciation  of  Radisson 's 
service  by  voting  him  100Z.  to  be  given  to  four  Frenchmen  left 
behind  in  Hudson  Bay.  Jean  Baptiste  Groseilliers,  nephew  of 
Radisson,  was  also  engaged  by  the  Company  for  four  years  in 
the  service  at  100Z.  a  year.  Radisson  seems  to  have  had  some 
dispute  with  the  Company  as  to  the  salary  at  this  time.  On 
May  6th,  1685,  his  salary  when  out  of  England  was  raised  to 
100Z.  a  year,  and  300Z.  to  his  wife  in  case  of  his  death.  Radis- 
son refused  to  accept  these  terms.  The  Company  for  a  time 


38  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY    COMPANY 

would  not  increase  its  offer,  but  the  time  for  the  ship  to  sail 
was  drawing  nigh,  and  the  Committee  gave  way  and  added  to 
the  above  amount  100£.  of  stock  to  be  given  to  his  wife.  John 
Bridgar  was  appointed  Governor  at  Port  Nelson  for  three  years, 
and  Radisson  superintendent  of  the  trade  there.  Radisson  was 
satisfied  with  the  new  terms,  and  that  the  Company  was 
greatly  impressed  with  the  value  of  his  services  is  seen  in  the 
following  entry  :  "  A  hogshead  of  claret  being  ordered  for  Mr. 
Radisson, '  such  as  Mr.  R.  shall  like/  " 

In  the  year  1685-6  all  hitherto  printed  accounts  of  Radisson 
leave  our  redoubtable  explorer.  We  are,  for  the  history  up  to 
this  date,  much  indebted  to  the  Prince  Society  of  Boston  for 
printing  an  interesting  volume  containing  the  journals  of 
Radisson,  which  are  preserved  in  the  British  Museum  in 
London  and  hi  the  Bodleian  Library  in  Oxford. 

Dr.  N.  E.  Dionne,  the  accomplished  librarian  of  the  Legisla- 
tive Library,  Quebec,  has  contributed  to  the  proceedings  of  the 
Royal  Society  of  Canada  very  appreciative  articles  entitled, 
"  Chouart  and  Radisson/'  In  these  he  has  relied  for  the  detail 
of  facts  of  discovery  almost  entirely  on  the  publication  of  the 
Prince  Society.  He  has,  however,  added  much  genealogical 
and  local  Canadian  material,  which  tends  to  make  the  history 
of  these  early  explorers  more  interesting  than  it  could  other- 
wise be. 

A  resident  of  Manitoba,  wno  has  shown  an  interest  in  the 
legends  and  early  history  of  Canada,  Mr.  L.  A.  Prudhomme, 
St.  Boniface,  Judge  of  the  County,  has  written  a  small  volume 
of  sixty  pages  on  the  life  of  Radisson.  Like  the  articles  of  Dr. 
Dionne,  this  volume  depends  entirely  for  its  information  on  the 
publication  of  the  Prince  Society. 

Readers  of  fiction  are  no  doubt  familiar  with  the  appearance 
of  Radisson  in  Gilbert  Parker's  novel,  "  The  Trail  of  the 
Sword/'  It  is  unnecessary  to  state  that  there  seems  no 
historic  warrant  for  the  statement, ' '  Once  he  attempted  Count 
Frontenac's  life.  He  sold  a  band  of  our  traders  to  the  Iro- 
quois."  The  character,  thoroughly  repulsive  in  this  work  of 
fiction,  does  not  look  to  be  the  real  Radisson  ;  and  certainly  as 
we  survey  the  bloody  scene,  which  must  have  been  intended 
for  a  period  subsequent  to  Frontenac's  return  to  Canada  in 


TWO    ADROIT   ADVENTURERS  39 

1689,  where  Radisson  fell  done  to  death  by  the  dagger  and 
pistol  of  the  mutineer  Bucklaw  and  was  buried  in  the  hungry 
sea,  we  see  what  was  purely  imaginary.  Of  course,  we  do  not 
for  a  moment  criticize  the  art  of  the  historic  novelist,  but 
simply  state  that  the  picture  is  not  that  of  the  real  Radisson, 
and  that  we  shall  find  Radisson  alive  a  dozen  or  more  years 
after  the  tragic  end  given  him  by  the  artist. 

These  three  works,  as  well  as  the  novel,  agree  in  seeing  in 
Radisson  a  man  of  remarkable  character  and  great  skill  and 
adroitness. 

FURTHER   HISTORY. 

The  Prince  Society  volume  states  :  "  We  again  hear  of 
Radisson  in  Hudson  Bay  in  1685,  and  this  is  his  last  appear- 
ance in  public  records  as  far  as  is  known/'  The  only 
other  reference  is  made  by  Dionne  and  Prudhomme  in  stating 
that  Charlevoix  declares  "  that  Radisson  died  in  England." 

Patient  search  in  the  archives  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
in  London  has  enabled  the  writer  to  trace  the  history  of 
Radisson  on  for  many  years  after  the  date  given,  and  to  un- 
earth a  number  of  very  interesting  particulars  connected  with 
him  ;  indeed,  to  add  some  twenty-five  years  hitherto  unknown 
to  our  century  to  his  life,  and  to  see  him  pass  from  view  early 
in  1710. 

In  1687,  Radisson  was  still  in  the  employ  of  the  Company, 
and  the  Committee  decided  that  he  should  be  made  a  denizen 
or  subject  of  England.  He  arrived  from  Hudson  Bay  in 
October  of  this  year,  appeared  before  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany Committee,  and  was  welcomed  by  its  members.  It  was 
decided  that  50/.  be  given  as  a  gratuity  to  the  adventurer  till 
he  should  be  again  employed.  On  June  24th,  1688,  Radisson 
again  sailed  in  the  ship  for  Hudson  Bay,  and  during  that  year 
he  was  paid  100Z.  as  50  per  cent,  dividend  on  his  200/.  worth 
of  stock,  and  in  the  following  year  501.  as  25  per  cent,  dividend 
on  his  stock.  As  the  following  year,  1690,  was  the  time  of  the 
"  great  dividend,"  Radisson  was  again  rejoiced  by  the  amount 
of  1501.  as  his  share  of  the  profits. 

The  prosperity  of  the  Company  appears  to  have  led  to  an 
era  of  extravagance,  and  to  certain  dissensions  within  the  Com- 
pany itself.  The  amounts  paid  Radisson  were  smaller  in 


40  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

accordance  with  the  straits  in  which  the  Company  found  itself 
arising  from  French  rivalry  on  the  Bay.  In  1692  Sir  William 
Young  is  seen  strongly  urging  fuller  consideration  for  Radisson, 
who  was  being  paid  at  the  reduced  rate  of  501.  a  year. 

In  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  letter-book  of  this  period  we 
find  a  most  interesting  memorial  of  Sir  William  Young's  in 
behalf  of  Radisson,  with  answers  by  the  Company,  on  the 
whole  confirming  our  narrative,  but  stating  a  few  divergent 
points. 

We  give  the  memorial  in  full. 

Dated  December  20th,  1692,  being  plea  of  William  Young, 
in  behalf  of  Pierre  Esprit  Radisson  : — 

"  Radisson,  born  a  Frenchman,  educated  from  a  child  in 
Canada,  spent  youth  hunting  and  commercing  with  the  Indians 
adjacent  to  Hudson  Bay,  master  of  the  language,  customs, 
and  trade. 

"  Radisson  being  at  New  England  about  twenty -seven  or 
twenty-eight  years  past,  met  there  with  Colonel  Nichols, 
Governor  of  New  York,  and  was  by  him  persuaded  to  go  to 
England  and  proffer  his  services  to  King  Charles  the  Second, 
in  order  to  make  a  settlement  of  an  English  factory  in  that 
bay. 

' '  At  his  arrival,  the  said  King,  giving  credit  to  Radisson  for 
that  undertaking,  granted  to  Prince  Rupert,  the  Duke  of 
Albemarle,  and  others,  the  same  Charter  we  do  still  claim  by, 
thereby  constituting  them  the  proprietors  of  the  said  bay, 
under  which  authority  he,  the  said  Radisson,  went  immediately 
and  made  an  English  settlement  there  according  to  his  promises. 

"  On  his  return  to  England  the  King  presented  him  with  a 
medal  and  gold  chain.  When  rejected  by  the  Company,  he 
was  compelled  to  return  to  Canada,  his  only  place  of  abode. 
Joined  the  French  and  led  an  expedition  to  Hudson  Bay. 
With  the  aid  of  Indians  destroyed  Company's  factory  and 
planted  a  New  England  factory  in  Port  Nelson  River. 

"  During  the  winter  Radisson  did  no  violence  to  the  English, 
but  supplied  them  with  victuals,  powder,  and  shot  when  their 
ship  was  cast  away.  Refused  a  present  from  the  Indians  to 
destroy  the  English,  and  gave  them  a  ship  to  convey  them 
away.  Afterwards  settled  the  French  factory  higher  up  the 


TWO    ADROIT   ADVENTURERS  41 

same  river,  where  his  alliance  with  the  Indians  was  too  strong 
for  New  England  or  Old  England,  and  immediately  after  he 
went  to  France.  Mr.  Young,  member  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  with  leave  from  Sir  James  Hayes,  deputy -governor, 
tried  to  hire  him  back  to  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  service 
with  large  promises.  During  negotiations,  Radisson  un- 
expectedly arrived  in  London.  Company's  ships  were  ready 
to  sail.  Had  just  time  to  kiss  the  King's  hand  at  Windsor  and 
that  of  the  Duke  of  York,  then  governor.  They  commended 
him  to  the  care  and  kindness  of  Sir  James  Hayes  and  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  commanded  that  he  should  be 
made  an  English  citizen,  which  was  done  in  his  absence. 

"  Before  sending  him,  the  Company  gave  him  two  original 
actions  in  Hudson's  Bay  Company  stock,  and  501.  for  subsist- 
ence money,  with  large  promises  of  future  rewards  for  expected 
service. 

"  Arriving  at  Port  Nelson  he  put  Company  in  entire  pos- 
session of  that  river,  brought  away  the  French  to  England, 
and  took  all  the  beavers  and  furs  they  had  traded  and  gave 
them  to  the  Company  without  asking  share  of  the  profits, 
although  they  sold  for  7,000?. 

"  He  was  kindly  welcomed  in  England  and  again  com- 
mended by  the  King.  Committee  presented  him  with  100 
guineas,  and  entered  in  the  books  that  he  should  have  50?. 
added  to  the  former  50?.,  until  the  King  should  find  him  a 
place,  when  the  last  50?.  should  cease.  Had  no  place  given 
him.  Sir  Edward  Dering,  deputy  governor,  influenced  Com- 
mittee to  withdraw  501. ,  so  he  had  only  501.  to  maintain  self, 
wife,  and  four  or  five  children,  and  servants,  24?.  of  this  going 
for  house-rent.  When  chief  factor  at  Nelson,  was  tempted  by 
servants  to  continue  to  cheat  the  Company,  was  beaten  be- 
cause he  refused. 

"  Prays  for  payment  of  100?.  and  arrears,  because  : 

"  1 .     All  but  Sir  Edward  Dering  think  it  just  and  reasonable. 

"2.     No  place  was  given  in  lieu  of  50?. 

"3.     Of  fidelity  to  the  Company  in  many  temptations. 

"4.     He  never  asked  more  than  the  Company  chose  to  give. 

"  5.     Imprisoned  in  bay  in  time  of  trade  for  not  continuing 
to  cheat  the  Company. 


&  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

* '  i.     Tke  Company  received  from  Port  Nelson,  after  he  gave 
it  them,  100,OOOZ.  worth  of  furs,  which  is  now  believed 
would  have  been  lost,  with  their  whole  interest  in  the 
bay,  if  he  had  not  joined  them  when  invited. 
11  f.     The  original  actions  and  the  100Z.  revert  to  the  Com- 
pany at  his  death. 
"  I.     Income  inadequate  to  maintain  wife  and  children  in 

London. 
"  $.     Debts  great  from  necessity.     Would  be  compelled  to 

leave  wife  and  children  and  shift  for  himself. 
"  If.     He  cannot  sell  original  actions,  since  they  cease  with 

his  life. 
"11.     Of  King  Charles'  many  recommendations  to  kindness 

of  Company. 
"12.     French  have  a  price  on  his  head  as  a  traitor,  so  that  he 

cannot  safely  go  home. 

"  M.  Mr.  Young  further  pleads  that  as  Mr.  Radisson  was 
the  author  of  the  Company's  prosperity,  so  he  (Mr. 
Young)  was  the  first  to  persuade  him  to  join  their 
service.  That  he  (Mr.  Young)  had  been  offered  a 
reward  for  his  services  in  persuading  him,  which  he 
had  utterly  refused.  But  now  that  this  reward  be 
given  in  the  form  of  maintenance  for  Radisson  in 
his  great  necessity,  &c." 

The  Committee  passes  over  the  sketch  of  Radisson's  life, 
which  they  do  not  gainsay. 

In  the  second  paragraph,  they  observe  that  Mr.  Young 
stated  their  neglect  to  maintain  Mr.  Radisson  without  mention- 
ing their  reasons  for  so  doing,  which  might  have  shown  whether 
it  was  their  unkindness  or  Radisson's  desert. 

They  go  on  to  take  notice  of  the  fact  that  about  1681  or 
1682,  Radisson  and  Groseilliers  entered  into  another  contract 
with  the  Company  and  received  201.  Soon  afterwards  they  ab- 
sconded, went  to  France,  and  thence  to  Canada.  Next  year 
they  joined  their  countrymen  in  an  expedition  to  Port  Nelson, 
animated  by  the  report  of  Mr.  Abram  to  the  Company  that  it 
was  the  best  place  for  a  factory.  They  took  their  two  barks 
up  as  far  as  they  durst  for  fear  of  the  English.  Then  the  French 
in  the  fall  built  a  small  hut,  which  Mr.  Young  says  was  too 


TWO    ADROIT   ADVENTURERS  43 

f*r  eitker  Jew  England  or  Old  England  without  guns 
or  works— a  place  merely  to  sleep  in,  manned  only  with  seven 
French. 

This  expedition,  Mr.  Young  saith,  was  at  first  prejudicial  to 
the  Company,  but  afterward  of  great  advantage,  which  he 
cannot  apprehend. 

In  another  place  Mr.  Young  is  pleased  to  state  that  the  New 
England  settlement  was  so  strong  that  the  Old  could  not 
destroy  it.  Old  England  settlement  was  only  a  house  un- 
fortified, which  Bridgar  built  to  keep  the  goods  dry,  because 
Gillam's  boat  arrived  late. 

"  1.  Mr.  Young  says  all  are  in  favour  of  Radisson  but  Sir 
Edward  Dering,  we  have  not  met  with  any  who  are  in  favour 
but  Mr.  Young.  Those  who  give  gratuity  should  know  why. 

' '  2.  That  he  had  no  place  or  honour  given  him  is  no  reason 
for  giving  gratuity,  there  being  no  contract  in  the  case. 

"  3.  Never  found  him  accused  of  cheating  and  purloining, 
but  breach  of  contract  with  Company,  after  receiving  their 
money,  we  do  find  him  guilty  of. 

"  4.  Says  he  never  did  capitulate  with  the  Company.  Find 
he  did  (see  minutes),  May  6th,  1685. 

"  5.  Cannot  believe  Radisson  was  beaten  by  the  Company's 
servants.  Greater  increase  of  furs  after  he  left,  &c.,  &c.,  &c." 

This  memorial  and  its  answer  show  the  rather  unreasonable 
position  taken  by  the  Company.  In  the  time  of  its  admiration 
for  Radisson  and  of  fat  dividends,  it  had  provided  liberal 
things  ;  but  when  money  became  scarce,  then  it  was  disposed 
to  make  matters  pleasing  to  itself,  despite  the  claims  of  Radis- 
son. In  the  year  following  the  presenting  of  the  memorial,  it 
is  stated  in  the  minutes  that  "  Radisson  was  represented  to  the 
Company  as  in  a  low  and  mean  condition/'  At  this  time  it 
was  ordered  that  501  be  paid  Radisson  and  to  be  repaid  out  of 
the  next  dividend. 

The  unreasonable  position  assumed  by  the  Company,  in  with- 
holding a  part  of  the  salary  which  they  had  promised  in  good 
faith,  filled  Radisson  with  a  sense  of  injustice.  No  doubt 
guided  by  his  friend,  Sir  William  Young,  who,  on  account  of 
his  persistence  on  behalf  of  the  adventurer,  was  now  dropped 
from  the  Committee  of  the  Company,  Radisson  filed  a  bill  in 


44  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Chancery  against  the  Company,  and  in  July,  1694,  notice  of 
this  was  served  upon  the  Committee. 

Much  consternation  appears  to  have  filled  their  minds,  and 
the  Deputy-Governor,  Sir  Samuel  Clark,  reported  shortly  after 
having  used  200Z.  for  secret  service,  the  matter  being  seem- 
ingly connected  with  this  case. 

Notwithstanding  the  great  influence  of  the  Company,  the 
justice  of  Radisson's  claims  prevailed,  and  the  Court  of 
Chancery  ordered  the  payment  of  arrears  in  full.  The  Com- 
mittee afterwards  met  Sir  William  Young  and  Richard 
Craddock,  who  upheld  Radisson's  claim.  It  is  reported  that 
they  agreed  to  settle  the  matter  by  paying  Radisson  150Z.,  he 
giving  a  release,  and  that  he  should  be  paid,  under  seal,  100Z. 
per  annum  for  life,  except  in  those  years  when  the  Company 
should  make  a  dividend,  and  then  but  501.  according  to  the 
original  agreement.  Radisson  then  received,  as  the  minutes 
show,  his  salary  regularly  from  this  time. 

In  1698,  the  Company  asked  for  the  renewal  by  Parliament 
of  its  Charter.  Radisson  petitioned  Parliament  for  considera- 
tion, asking  that  before  the  request  made  by  the  Company 
for  the  confirmation  of  the  privileges  sought  were  granted,  a 
clause  should  be  inserted  protecting  him  in  the  regular  pay- 
ment of  the  amounts  due  to  him  from  time  to  time  by  the 
Company. 

At  the  time  of  his  petition  to  Parliament  he  states  that  he 
has  four  young  children,  and  has  only  the  100Z.  a  year  given 
by  the  Company  to  live  on.  In  the  year  1700  he  was  still 
struggling  with  his  straitened  circumstances,  for  in  that  year 
he  applied  to  the  Company  to  be  appointed  warehouse -keeper 
for  the  London  premises,  but  his  application  was  refused. 
His  children,  of  whom  he  is  said  to  have  had  nine,  appear  to 
have  passed  over  to  Canada  and  to  have  become  a  part  of  the 
Canadian  people.  His  brother-in-law,  Groseilliers,  had  also 
returned  to  his  adopted  Canada,  but  is  stated  to  have  died 
before  1698. 

Regularly  during  the  succeeding  years  the  quarterly  amount 
is  voted  to  Radisson  by  the  Company,  until  January  6th,  1710, 
when  the  last  quota  of  121.  10s.  was  ordered  to  be  given. 
About  this  time,  at  the  ripe  age  of  seventy -four,  passed  away 


TWO   ADROIT   ADVENTURERS  45 

Pierre  Esprit  Radisson,  one  of  the  most  daring  and  ingenious 
men  of  his  time.  We  know  nothing  of  his  death,  except  from 
the  fact  that  his  pension  ceased  to  be  paid. 

Judge  Prudhomme,  to  whose  appreciative  sketch  of  Radisson 
in  French  we  have  already  referred,  well  summarizes  his  life. 
We  translate  : — 

'  What  a  strange  existence  was  that  of  this  man  !  By  turns 
discoverer,  officer  of  marine,  organizer  and  founder  of  the  most 
commercial  company  which  has  existed  in  North  America,  his 
life  presents  an  astonishing  variety  of  human  experiences. 

"  He  may  be  seen  passing  alternately  from  the  wigwams  of 
the  miserable  savages  to  the  court  of  the  great  Colbert ;  from 
managing  chiefs  of  the  tribes  to  addressing  the  most  illustrious 
nobles  of  Great  Britain. 

"  His  courage  was  of  a  high  order.  He  looked  death  in  the 
face  more  than  a  hundred  times  without  trepidation.  He 
braved  the  tortures  and  the  stake  among  the  Iroquois,  the 
treacherous  stratagems  of  the  savages  of  the  West,  the  rigorous 
winters  of  the  Hudson  Bay,  and  the  tropical  heat  of  the 
Antilles. 

"  Of  an  adventurous  nature,  drawn  irresistibly  to  regions 
unknown,  carried  on  by  the  enthusiasm  of  his  voyages,  always 
ready  to  push  out  into  new  dangers,  he  could  have  been  made 
by  Fennimore  Cooper  one  of  the  heroes  of  his  most  exciting 
romances. 

"  The  picture  of  his  life  consequently  presents  many  con- 
trasts. The  life  of  a  brigand,  which  he  led  with  a  party  of 
Iroquois,  cannot  be  explained  away. 

"  He  was  blamable  in  a  like  manner  for  having  deserted  the 
flag  of  France,  his  native  country.  The  first  time  we  might, 
perhaps,  pardon  him,  for  he  was  the  victim  of  grave  injustice 
on  the  part  of  the  government  of  the  colony. 

' '  No  excuse  could  justify  his  second  desertion.  He  had  none 
to  offer,  not  one.  He  avowed  very  candidly  that  he  sought 
the  service  of  England  because  he  preferred  it  to  that  of 
France. 

"  In  marrying  the  daughter  of  Mr.  John  Kirke,  he  seems 
to  have  espoused  also  the  nationality  of  her  family.  As  for 
him,  he  would  have  needed  to  change  the  proverb,  and,  in  the 


46  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

place  of  '  One  who  marries  a  husband  takes  his  country/  to 
say,  '  One  who  marries  a  wife  takes  her  country/ 

"  The  celebrated  discover  of  the  North- West,  the  illustrious 
Le  Verendrye,  has  as  much  as  Radisson,  and  even  more  than 
he,  of  just  reason  to  complain  of  the  ingratitude  of  France  ; 
yet  how  different  was  his  conduct ! 

"  Just  as  his  persecutions  have  placed  upon  the  head  of  the 
first  a  new  halo  of  glory,  so  they  have  cast  upon  the  brow  of 
the  second  an  ineffaceable  stain. 

"  Souls  truly  noble  do  not  seek  in  treason  the  recompense 
for  the  rights  denied  them." 

(For  a  detailed  chronological  account  of  Radisson  Js  life,  see 
Appendix  B,  page  487.) 

L.   \       '  I 


CHAPTER    VI. 

FRENCH  RIVALRY. 

The  golden  lilies  in  danger — "  To  arrest  Radisson  "—The  land  called 
"  Unknown  " — A  chain  of  claim — Imaginary  pretensions — Cheva- 
lier de  Troyes — The  brave  Lemoynes — Hudson  Bay  forts  captured 
— A  litigious  governor — Laugh  at  treaties — The  glory  of  France — 
Enormous  claims — Consequential  damages. 

THE  two  great  nations  which  were  seeking  supremacy  in  North 
America  came  into  collision  all  too  soon  on  the  shores  of 
Hudson  Bay.  Along  the  shore  of  the  Atlantic,  England 
claimed  New  England  and  much  of  the  coast  to  the  southward. 
France  was  equally  bent  on  holding  New  France  and  Acadia. 
Now  that  England  had  begun  to  occupy  Hudson  Bay,  France 
was  alarmed,  for  the  enemy  would  be  on  her  northern  as  well 
as  on  her  southern  border.  No  doubt,  too,  France  feared  that 
her  great  rival  would  soon  seek  to  drive  her  golden  lilies  back 
to  the  Old  World,  for  New  France  would  be  a  wedge  between 
the  northern  and  southern  possessions  of  England  in  the  New 
World. 

The  movement  leading  to  the  first  voyage  to  Hudson  Bay  by 
Gillam  and  his  company  was  carefully  watched  by  the  French 
Government.  In  February,  1668,  at  which  time  Gillam's 
expedition  had  not  yet  sailed,  the  Marquis  de  Denonville, 
Governor  of  Canada,  appointed  an  officer  to  go  in  search  of  the 
most  advantageous  posts  and  occupy  the  shores  of  the  Baie 
du  Nord  and  the  embouchures  of  the  rivers  that  enter 
therein.  Among  other  things  the  governor  gave  orders  "  to 
arrest  especially  the  said  Radisson  and  his  adherents  wherever 
they  may  be  found." 

Intendant  Talon,  in  1670,  sent  home  word  to  M.  Colbert 
that  ships  had  been  seen  near  Hudson  Bay,  and  that  it 

47 


48  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

was  likely  that  they  were  English,  and  were  "  under  the 
guidance  of  a  man  des  Grozeliers,  formerly  an  inhabitant  of 
Canada." 

The  alarm  caused  the  French  by  the  movements  of  the 
English  adventurers  was  no  doubt  increased  by  the  belief  that 
Hudson  Bay  was  included  in  French  territory.  The  question 
of  what  constituted  ownership  or  priority  of  claim  was  at  this 
time  a  very  difficult  one  among  the  nations.  Whether  mere 
discovery  or  temporary  occupation  could  give  the  right  of 
ownership  was  much  questioned.  Colonization  would  cer- 
tainly be  admitted  to  do  so,  provided  there  had  been  founded 
"  certain  establishments."  But  the  claim  of  France  upon 
Hudson  Bay  would  appear  to  have  been  on  the  mere  ground  of 
the  Hudson  Bay  region  being  contiguous  or  neighbouring 
territory  to  that  held  by  the  French. 

The  first  claim  made  by  France  was  under  the  commission, 
as  Viceroy  to  Canada,  given  in  1540  by  the  French  King  to 
Sieur  de  Roberval,  which  no  doubt  covered  the  region  about 
Hudson  Bay,  though  not  specifying  it.  In  1598  Lescarbot 
states  that  the  commission  given  to  De  La  Roche  contained  the 
following  :  "  New  France  has  for  its  boundaries  on  the  west 
the  Pacific  Ocean  within  the  Tropic  of  Cancer  ;  on  the  south 
the  islands  of  the  Atlantic  towards  Cuba  and  Hispaniola  ;  on 
the  east,  the  Northern  Sea  which  washes  its  shores,  embracing 
in  the  north  the  land  called  Unknown  toward  the  Frozen  Sea, 
up  to  the  Arctic  Pole." 

The  sturdy  common  sense  of  Anglo-Saxon  England  refused 
to  be  bound  by  the  contention  that  a  region  admittedly 
"  Unknown  "  could  be  held  on  a  mere  formal  claim. 

The  English  pointed  out  that  one  of  their  expeditions  under 
Henry  Hudson  in  1610  had  actually  discovered  the  Bay  and 
given  it  its  name  ;  that  Sir  Thomas  Button  immediately  there- 
after had  visited  the  west  side  of  the  Bay  and  given  it  the  name 
of  New  Wales  ;  that  Captain  James  had,  about  a  score  of  years 
after  Hudson,  gone  to  the  part  of  the  Bay  which  continued  to 
bear  his  name,  and  that  Captain  Fox  had  in  the  same  year 
reached  the  west  side  of  the  Bay.  This  claim  of  discovery  was 
opposed  to  the  fanciful  claims  made  by  France.  The  strength 
of  the  English  contention,  now  enforced  by  actual  occupation 


FRENCH   RIVALRY  49 

and  the  erection  of  Charles  Fort,  made  it  necessary  to  obtain 
some  new  basis  of  objection  to  the  claim  of  England. 

It  is  hard  to  resist  the  conclusion  that  a  deliberate  effort 
was  made  to  invent  some  ground  of  prior  discovery  in  order  to 
meet  the  visible  argument  of  a  fort  now  occupied  by  the  Eng- 
lish. M.  de  la  Potherie,  historian  of  New  France,  made  the 
assertion  that  Radisson  and  Groseilliers  had  crossed  from  Lake 
Superior  to  the  Baie  du  Nord  (Hudson  Bay).  It  is  true,  as  we 
have  seen,  that  Oldmixon,  the  British  writer  of  a  generation  or 
two  later,  states  the  same  thing.  This  claim  is,  however,  com- 
pletely met  by  the  statement  made  by  Radisson  of  his  third 
voyage  that  they  heard  only  from  the  Indians  on  Lake  Superior 
of  the  Northern  Bay,  but  had  not  crossed  to  it  by  land.  We 
have  disposed  of  the  matter  of  his  fourth  voyage.  The  same 
historian  also  puts  forward  what  seems  to  be  pure  myth,  that 
one  Jean  Bourdon,  a  Frenchman,  entered  the  Bay  in  1656  and 
engaged  in  trade.  It  was  stated  also  that  a  priest,  William 
Couture,  sent  by  Governor  D'Avaugour  of  New  France,  had  in 
1663  made  a  missionary  establishment  on  the  Bay.  These  are 
unconfirmed  statements,  having  no  details,  and  are  suspicious 
in  their  time  of  origination.  The  Hudson's  Bay  Company's 
answer  states  that  Bourdon's  voyage  was  to  another  part  of 
Canada,  going  only  to  53°  N.,  and  not  to  the  Bay  at  all. 
Though  entirely  unsupported,  these  claims  were  reiterated  as 
late  as  1857  by  Hon.  Joseph  Cauchon  in  his  case  on  behalf  of 
Canada  v.  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  M.  Jeremie,  who  was 
Governor  of  the  French  forts  in  Hudson  Bay  in  1713,  makes 
the  statement  that  Radisson  and  Groseilliers  had  visited  the 
Bay  overland,  for  which  there  is  no  warrant,  but  the  Governor 
does  not  speak  of  Bourdon  or  Couture.  This  contradiction  of 
De  la  Potherie's  claim  is  surely  sufficient  proof  that  there  is  no 
ground  for  credence  of  the  stories,  which  are  purely  apocryphal. 
It  is  but  just  to  state,  however,  that  the  original  claim  of 
Roberval  and  De  la  Roche  had  some  weight  in  the  negotiations 
which  took  place  between  the  French  and  English  Governments 
over  this  matter. 

M.  Colbert,  the  energetic  Prime  Minister  of  France,  at  any 
rate  made  up  his  mind  that  the  English  must  be  excluded 
from  Hudson  Bay.  Furthermore,  the  fur  trade  of  Canada  was 


50  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

beginning  to  feel  very  decidedly  the  influence  of  the  English 
traders  in  turning  the  trade  to  their  factories  on  Hudson  Bay. 
The  French  Prime  Minister,  in  1678,  sent  word  to  Duchesnau, 
the  Intendant  of  Canada,  to  dispute  the  right  of  the  English 
to  erect  factories  on  Hudson  Bay.  Radisson  and  Groseilliers, 
as  we  have  seen,  had  before  this  time  deserted  the  service  of 
England  and  returned  to  that  of  France.  With  the  approval 
of  the  French  Government,  these  facile  agents  sailed  to 
Canada  and  began  the  organization,  in  1681,  of  a  new  associa- 
tion, to  be  known  as  "  The  Northern  Company."  Fitted  out 
with  two  small  barks,  Le  St.  Pierre  and  La  Ste.  Anne,  in  1682, 
the  adventurers,  with  their  companions,  appeared  before 
Charles  Fort,  which  Groseilliers  had  helped  to  build,  but  do  not 
seem  to  have  made  any  hostile  demonstration  against  it. 
Passing  away  to  the  west  side  of  the  Bay,  these  shrewd 
explorers  entered  the  River  Ste.  Therese  (the  Hayes  River  of 
to-day)  and  there  erected  an  establishment,  which  they  called 
Fort  Bourbon. 

This  was  really  one  of  the  best  trading  points  on  the  Bay. 
Some  dispute  as  to  even  the  occupancy  of  this  point  took  place, 
but  it  would  seem  as  if  Radisson  and  Groseilliers  had  the 
priority  of  a  few  months  over  the  English  party  that  came  to 
establish  a  fort  at  the  mouth  of  the  adjoining  River  Nelson. 
The  two  adventurers,  Radisson  and  Groseilliers,  in  the  follow- 
ing year  came,  as  we  have  seen,  with  their  ship-load  of  peltries 
to  Canada,  and  it  is  charged  that  they  attempted  to  unload  a 
part  of  their  cargo  of  furs  before  reaching  Quebec.  This  led  to 
a  quarrel  between  them  and  the  Northern  Company,  and  the 
adroit  fur  traders  again  left  the  service  of  France  to  find  their 
way  back  to  England.  We  have  already  seen  how  completely 
these  two  Frenchmen,  in  the  year  1684,  took  advantage  of  their 
own  country  at  Fort  Bourbon  and  turned  over  the  furs  to  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

The  sense  of  injury  produced  on  the  minds  of  the  French  by 
the  treachery  of  these  adventurers  stirred  the  authorities  up  to 
attack  the  posts  in  Hudson  Bay.  Governor  Denonville  now 
came  heartily  to  the  aid  of  the  Northern  Company,  and  com- 
missioned Chevalier  de  Troyes  to  organize  an  overland  expedi- 
tion from  Quebec  to  Hudson  Bay.  The  love  of  adventure  was 


FRENCH   RIVALRY  5r 

strong  in  the  breasts  of  the  young  French  noblesse  in  Canada. 
Four  brothers  of  the  family  Le  Moyne  had  become  known  for 
their  deeds  of  valour  along  the  English  frontier.  Leader 
among  the  valorous  French -Canadians  was  Le  Moyne  Dlber- 
ville,  who,  though  but  twenty-four  years  of  age,  had  already 
performed  prodigies  of  daring.  Maricourt,  his  brother,  was 
another  fiery  spirit,  who  was  known  to  the  Iroquois  by  a  name 
signifying  "  the  little  bird  which  is  always  in  motion." 
Another  leader  was  Ste.  Helene.  With  a  party  of  chosen  men 
these  intrepid  spirits  left  the  St.  Lawrence  in  March,  1685, 
and  threaded  the  streams  of  the  Laurentian  range  to  the  shore 
of  Hudson  Bay. 

After  nearly  three  months  of  the  most  dangerous  and 
exciting  adventures,  the  party  reached  their  destination.  The 
officers  and  men  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  service  were 
chiefly  civilians  unaccustomed  to  war,  and  were  greatly  sur- 
prised by  the  sudden  appearance  upon  the  Bay  of  their  doughty 
antagonists.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Moose  River  one  of  the  l> 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  forts  was  situated,  and  here  the  first 
attack  was  made.  It  was  a  fort  of  considerable  importance, 
having  four  bastions,  and  was  manned  by  fourteen  guns.  It. 
however,  fell  before  the  fierce  assault  of  the  forest  rangers, 
The  chief  offence  in  the  eyes  of  the  French  was  Charles  Fort  * 
on  the  Rupert  River,  that  being  the  first  constructed  by  the 
English  Company.  This  was  also  captured  and  its  fortifica-^ 
tions  thrown  down.  At  the  same  time  that  the  main  body 
were  attacking  Charles  Fort,  the  brothers  Le  Moyne,  with  a 
handful  of  picked  men,  stealthily  approached  in  two  canoes 
one  of  the  Company's  vessels  in  the  Bay  and  succeeded  in 
taking  it. 

The  largest  fort  on  the  Bay  was  that  in  the  marshy  region 
on  Albany  River.  It  was  substantially  built  with  four 
bastions  and  was  provided  with  forty-three  guns.  The  rapidity 
of  movement  and  military  skill  of  the  French  expedition  com- 
pletely paralyzed  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  officials  and 
men.  Governor  Sargeant,  though  having  in  Albany  Fort  furs 
to  the  value  of  50,000  crowns,  after  a  slight  resistance  sur- 
rendered without  the  honours  of  war.  The  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  employes  were  given  permission  to  return  to  England 


52  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

and  in  the  meantime  the  Governor  and  his  attendants  were 
taken  to  Charlton  Island  and  the  rest  of  the  prisoners  to  Moose 
Fort.  DTberville  afterwards  took  the  prisoners  to  France, 
whence  they  came  back  to  England. 

A  short  time  after  this  the  Company  showed  its  disapproval 
of  Governor  Sargeant's  course  in  surrendering  Fort  Albany  so 
readily.  Thinking  they  could  mark  their  disapprobation  more 
strongly,  they  brought  an  action  against  Governor  Sargeant  in 
the  courts  to  recover  20,000?.  After  the  suit  had  gone  some 
distance,  they  agreed  to  refer  the  matter  to  arbitration,  and  the 
case  was  ended  by  the  Company  having  to  pay  to  the  Governor 
350?.  The  affair,  being  a  family  quarrel,  caused  some  amuse- 
ment to  the  public. 

The  only  place  of  importance  now  remaining  to  the  English 
on  Hudson  Bay  was  Port  Nelson,  which  was  near  the  French 
Fort  Bourbon.  DTberville,  utilizing  the  vessel  he  had  cap- 
tured on  the  Bay,  went  back  to  Quebec  in  the  autumn  of  1687 
with  the  rich  booty  of  furs  taken  at  the  different  points. 

These  events  having  taken  place  at  a  time  when  the  two 
countries,  France  and  England,  were  nominally  at  peace, 
negotiations  took  place  between  the  two  Powers. 

Late  in  the  year  1686  a  treaty  of  neutrality  was  signed,  and 
it  was  hoped  that  peace  would  ensue  on  Hudson  Bay.  This 
does  not  seem  to  have  been  the  case,  however,  and  both  parties 
blame  each  other  for  not  observing  the  terms  of  the  Act  of 
Pacification.  DTberville  defended  Albany  Fort  from  a  British 
attack  in  1689,  departed  in  that  year  for  Quebec  with  a  ship- 
load of  furs,  and  returned  to  Hudson  Bay  in  the  following 
year.  During  the  war  which  grew  out  of  the  Revolution, 
Albany  Fort  changed  hands  again  to  the  English,  and  was 
afterwards  retaken  by  the  French,  after  which  a  strong 
English  force  (1692)  repossessed  themselves  of  it.  For  some 
time  English  supremacy  was  maintained  on  the  Bay,  but  the 
French  merely  waited  their  time  to  attack  Fort  Bourbon, 
which  they  regarded  as  in  a  special  sense  their  own.  In  1694 
DTberville  visited  the  Bay,  besieged  and  took  Fort  Bourbon, 
and  reduced  the  place  with  his  two  frigates.  His  brother  De 
Chateauguay  was  killed  during  the  siege. 

In  1697  the  Bay  again  fell  into  English  hands,  and  DTber- 


r.i:  .VOYXE  D'IBEKVILLE. 


FRENCH   RIVALRY  53 

ville  was  put  in  command  of  a  squadron  sent  out  for  him  from 
France,  and  with  this  he  sailed  for  Hudson  Bay.  The  expedi- 
tion brought  unending  glory  to  France  and  the  young  com- 
mander. Though  one  of  his  warships  was  crushed  in  the  ice 
in  the  Hudson  Straits  and  his  remaining  vessels  could  no- 
where be  seen  when  he  reached  the  open  waters  of  the  Bay, 
yet  he  bravely  sailed  to  Port  Nelson,  purposing  to  invest  it  in 
his  one  ship,  the  Pelican.  Arrived  at  his  station,  he  observed 
that  he  was  shut  in  on  the  rear  by  three  English  men-of-war. 
Condition  was  desperate  ;  he  had  not  his  full  complement 
of  men,  and  some  of  those  on  board  were  sick.  His  vessel  had 
but  fifty  guns  ;  the  English  vessels  carried  among  them  124. 
The  English  vessels,  the  Hampshire,  the  Dering,  and  the 
Hudson's  Bay,  all  opened  fire  upon  him.  During  a  hot  engage- 
ment, a  well -aimed  broadside  from  the  Pelican  sank  the  Hamp- 
shire with  all  her  sails  flying,  and  everything  on  board  was 
lost ;  the  Hudson's  Bay  surrendered  unconditionally,  and  the 
Dering  succeeded  in  making  her  escape.  After  this  naval  duel 
D'Iberville's  missing  vessels  appeared,  and  the  commander, 
landing  a  sufficient  number  of  men,  invested  and  took  Port 
Nelson.  The  whole  of  the  Hudson  Bay  territory  thus  came 
into  the  possession  of  the  French.  The  matter  has  always, 
however,  been  looked  at  in  the  light  of  the  brilliant  achieve- 
ment of  this  scion  of  the  Le  Moynes. 

Few  careers  have  had  the  uninterrupted  success  of  that  of 
Pierre  Le  Moyne  D'Iber ville,  although  this  fortune  reached 
its  climax  in  the  exploit  in  Hudson  Bay.  Nine  years  after- 
wards the  brilliant  soldier  died  of  yellow  fever  at  Havana,  after 
he  had  done  his  best  in  a  colonization  enterprise  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi  which  was  none  too  successful.  Though  the 
treaty  of  Ryswick,  negotiated  in  this  year  of  D'Iberville's 
triumphs,  brought  for  the  time  the  cessation  of  hostilities,  yet 
nearly  fifteen  years  of  rivalry,  and  for  much  of  the  time  active 
warfare,  left  their  serious  traces  on  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
affairs.  A  perusal  of  the  minutes  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany during  this  period  gives  occasional  glimpses  of  the  state 
of  war  prevailing,  although  it  must  be  admitted  not  so  vivid  a 
picture  as  might  have  been  expected.  As  was  quite  natural, 
the  details  of  attacks,  defences,  surrenders,  and  parleys  come 


54  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

to  us  from  French  sources  rather  than  from  the  Company's 
books.  That  the  French  accounts  are  correct  is  fully  sub- 
stantiated by  the  memorials  presented  by  the  Company  to  the 
British  Government,  asking  for  recompense  for  losses  sustained. 

In  1687  a  petition  was  prepared  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany, and  a  copy  of  it  is  found  in  one  of  the  letter-books  of  the 
Company.  This  deals  to  some  extent  with  the  contention  of 
the  French  king,  which  had  been  lodged  with  the  British 
Government,  claiming  priority  of  ownership  of  the  regions 
about  Hudson  Bay.  The  arguments  advanced  are  chiefly 
those  to  which  we  have  already  referred.  The  claim  for  com- 
pensation made  upon  the  British  Government  by  the  Company 
is  a  revelation  of  how  seriously  the  French  rivalry  had  inter- 
fered with  the  progress  of  the  fur  trade.  After  still  more 
serious  conflict  had  taken  place  in  the  Bay,  and  the  Company 
had  come  to  be  apprehensive  for  its  very  existence,  another 
petition  was  laid  before  His  Majesty  William  III.,  in  1694. 
This  petition,  which  also  contained  the  main  facts  of  the  claim 
of  1687,  is  so  important  that  we  give  some  of  the  details  of  it. 
It  is  proper  to  state,  however,  that  a  part  of  the  demand  is 
made  up  of  what  has  since  been  known  as  "  consequential 
damages,"  and  that  in  consequence  the  matter  lingered  on  for 
at  least  two  decades. 

The  damages  claimed  were  : — 

1682.     Captain  Gillam  and  cargo  on  Prince  Rupert.          £        s.  d. 
(Captain  and  a  number  of  men,  cargo,   and 
ship  all  lost  in  hostilities.)     Governor  Bridgar 
and  men  seized  and  carried  to  Quebec     . 

Moderate  damages     25,000    0    0 
September,    1684.     French    with    two   ships    built   a 
small  house  and  interrupted  Indian  trade 

Damages      10,000    0    0 

1685.  French  took  Perpetuana  and  cargo  to  Quebec. 

Damages       5,000    0     0 
For  ship,  master,  and  men      .         .     Damages       1,255  16    3 

1686.  French  destroyed  three  of  Company's  ships  at 
bottom  of  Bay,  and  also  three  ships'  stores,  etc., 
and  took  50,000  beaver  skins,  and  turned  out 

to  sea  a  number  of  His  Majesty's  subjects  .  50,000  0  0 
1682-6.  Five  years'  losses  about  Forts  (10,000  beaver 

skins  yearly) 20,000  0  0 

1688.  Company's  ships  Churchill  and  Young  seized. 

by  French         .  10,000    0    0 


FRENCH   RIVALRY  55 

1692.     Company  sent  out  expedition  to  retake  Forts,  £  s.  d. 

which  cost  them       ......  20,000  0    0 

1686-93.  French  possessed  bottom  of  the  Bay  for 

seven  years.  Loss,  10,OOOZ,  a  year  .  .  70,000  0  0 

Damages  20,000  0  0 


Total  damages  claimed  £211,255  16    3 


CHAPTER    VII. 

BYSWICK   AND   UTRECHT. 

The  "  Grand  Monarque  "  humbled — Caught  napping — The  Company 
in  peril — Glorious  Utrecht — Forts  restored — Damages  to  be  con- 
sidered— Commission  useless. 

Louis  XIV.  of  France,  by  his  ambition  and  greed 'in  Ip90, 
united  against  himself  the  four  nations  immediately  surround- 
ing him — Germany,  Spain,  Holland,  and  England,  in  what  they 
called  "  The  Grand  Alliance."  Battles,  by  land  and  sea  for 
six  years,  brought  Louis  into  straits,  unrelieved  by  such 
brilliant  episodes  as  the  naval  prodigies  wrought  by  DTberville 
on  Hudson  Bay.  In  1696,  "  Le  Grand  Monarque  "  was  suffi- 
ciently humbled  to  make  overtures  for  peace.  The  opposing 
nations  accepted  these,  and  on  May  9th,  1697,  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  nations  met  at  William  III/s  Chateau  of 
Neuberg  Hansen,  near  the  village  of  Ryswick,  which  is  in 
Belgium,  a  short  distance  from  the  Hague. 

Louis  had  encouraged  the  Jacobite  cause,  James  III.  being 
indeed  a  resident  of  the  Castle  of  St.  Germain,  near  Paris. 
This  had  greatly  irritated  William,  and  one  of  the  first  things 
settled  at  the  Treaty  was  the  recognition  of  William  as  rightful 
King  of  England. 

Article  VII.  of  the  Treaty  compelled  the  restoration  to  the 
King  of  France  and  the  King  of  Great  Britain  respectively  of 
"  all  countries,  islands,  forts,  and  colonies,"  which  either  had 
possessed  before  the  declaration  of  war  in  1690.  However 
satisfactory  this  may  have  been  in  Acadia  and  Newfoundland, 
we  find  that  it  did  not  meet  the  case  of  the  Hudson  Bay,  inas- 
much as  the  ownership  of  this  region  was,  as  we  have  seen, 
claimed  by  both  parties  before  the  war.  In  the  documents  of 

56 


RYSWICK   AND    UTRECHT  57 

the  Company  there  is  evidence  of  the  great  anxiety  caused  to 
the  adventurers  when  the  news  reached  London,  as  to  what 
was  likely  to  be  the  basis  of  settlement  of  the  Treaty.  The 
adventurers  at  once  set  themselves  to  work  to  bring  influence 
to  bear  against  the  threatened  result.  The  impression  seemed 
to  prevail  that  they  had  been  "  caught  napping/'  and  possibly 
they  could  not  accomplish  anything.  Their  most  influential 
deputation  came  to  the  Hague,  and,  though  late  in  the  day,  did 
avail  somewhat. 

No  doubt  Article  VII.  of  the  Treaty  embodies  the  results  of 
their  influence.  It  is  so  important  for  our  purpose  that  we 
give  it  in  full  : — "  Commissioners  should  be  appointed  on  both 
sides  to  examine  and  determine  the  rights  and  pretensions 
which  either  of  the  said  Kings  have  to  the  places  situated  in 
Hudson  Bay  ;  but  the  possession  of  those  places  which  were 
taken  by  the  French  during  the  peace  that  preceded  this  war, 
and  were  retaken  by  the  English  during  this  war,  shall  be  left 
to  the  French,  by  virtue  of  the  foregoing  articles.  The  capitu- 
lation made  by  the  English  on  September  5th,  1695,  shall  be 
observed  according  to  the  form  and  tenor  ;  the  merchandises 
therein  mentioned  shall  be  restored  ;  the  Governor  at  the  fort 
taken  there  shall  be  set  at  liberty,  if  it  be  not  already  done  ; 
the  differences  which  have  arisen  concerning  the  execution  of 
the  said  capitulation  and  the  value  of  the  goods  there  lost,  shall 
be  adjudicated  and  determined  by  the  said  commissioners  ; 
who  immediately  after  the  ratification  of  the  present  Treaty, 
shall  be  invested  with  sufficient  authority  for  the  setting  of  the 
limits  and  confines  of  the  lands  to  be  restored  on  either  side  by 
virtue  of  the  foregoing  article,  and  likewise  for  exchanging  of 
lands,  as  may  conduce  to  the  mutual  interest  and  advantage  of 
both  Kings." 

This  agreement  presents  a  few  salient  points  : — 

1.  The  concession  to  France  of  rights  (undefined,  it  is  true), 
but  of  rights  not  hitherto  acknowledged  by  the  English. 

2.  The  case  of  the  Company,  which  would  have  been  seri- 
ously prejudiced  by  Article  VII.,  is  kept  open,  and  commis- 
sioners are  appointed  to  examine  and  decide  boundaries. 

3.  The   claim   for   damages   so   urgently  pressed   by   the 
Hudson's   Bay  Company  receives  some  recognition  in  the 


58  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY    COMPANY 

restoration  of  merchandize  and  the  investigation  into   the 
"  value  of  the  goods  lost." 

4.  On  the  whole,  the  interests  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
would  seem  to  have  been  decidedly  prejudiced  by  the  Treaty. 

The  affairs  of  the  Company  were  in  a  very  unfortunate 
condition  for  fifteen  years  after  the  Treaty  of  Ryswick.  The 
Treaty  took  place  in  the  very  year  of  D'Iberville's  remarkable 
victories  in  the  Bay.  That  each  nation  should  hold  that  of 
which  it  was  in  actual  possession  meant  that  of  the  seven 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  forts,  only  Fort  Albany  was  left  to  the 
Company.  The  Company  began  to  petition  at  once  for  the 
appointment  of  the  Commissioners  provided  by  the  Treaty,  to 
settle  the  matter  in  dispute.  The  desperate  condition  of  their 
affairs  accounts  for  the  memorials  presented  to  the  British 
Government  by  the  Company  in  1700  and  in  the  succeeding 
year,  by  which  they  expressed  themselves  as  satisfied  to  give 
the  French  the  southern  portion  of  the  Bay  from  Rupert's 
River  on  the  east  and  Albany  Fort  on  the  west.  About  the 
time  of  the  second  of  these  proposals  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany sent  to  the  British  Government  another  petition  of  a  very 
different  tone,  stating  their  perilous  condition,  arising  from 
their  not  receiving  one-fifth  of  the  usual  quantity  of  furs,  even 
from  Fort  Albany,  which  made  their  year's  trade  an  absolute 
loss  ;  they  propose  that  an  expedition  of  "  three  men-of-war, 
one  bomb-vessel,  and  250  soldiers  "  should  be  sent  to  dislodge 
the  French  and  to  regain  the  whole  Bay  for  them,  as  being 
the  original  owners.  No  steps  on  the  part  of  the  Ryswick 
Commissioners  seem  to  have  been  taken  toward  settling  the 
question  of  boundaries  in  Hudson  Bay. 

The  great  Marlborough  victories,  however,  crushed  the  power 
of  France,  and  when  Louis  XIV.  next  negotiated  with  the 
allies  at  Utrecht—"  The  Ferry  of  the  Rhine  "—in  1713,  the 
English  case  was  in  a  very  different  form  from  what  it  had 
been  at  the  Treaty  of  Ryswick.  Two  years  before  the  Treaty, 
when  it  was  evident  that  the  war  would  be  brought  to  an  end, 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  plucked  up  courage  and  petitioned 
strongly  to  be  allowed  the  use  of  the  whole  of  Hudson  Bay, 
and  to  have  their  losses  on  the  Bay  repaid  by  France.  Several 
times  during  the  war  had  France  sued  for  peace  at  the  hands 


RYSWICK   AND    UTRECHT  59 

of  the  allies,  but  the  request  had  been  refused.  To  humble 
France  seemed  to  be  the  fixed  policy  of  all  her  neighbours. 
At  the  end  of  the  war,  in  which  France  was  simply  able  to 
hold  what  she  could  defend  by  her  fortresses,  the  great  kingdom 
of  Louis  XIV.  found  itself  * '  miserably  exhausted,  her  revenue 
greatly  fallen  off,  her  currency  depreciated  thirty  per  cent.,  the 
choicest  of  her  nobles  drafted  into  the  army,  and  her  mer- 
chants and  industrious  artisans  weighed  down  to  the  ground 
by  heavy  imposts."  This  was  England's  opportunity,  and  she 
profited  by  it.  Besides  "  the  balance  of  power  "  in  Europe 
being  preserved,  Great  Britain  received  Nova  Scotia,  New- 
foundland, certain  West  India  Islands,  and  the  undisturbed 
control  of  the  Iroquois. 

Sections  X.  and  XI.  of  the  Treaty  are  of  special  value  to  us 
in  our  recital.  By  the  former  of  these  the  entire  west  coast  of 
Hudson  Bay  became  British  ;  the  French  were  to  evacuate  all 
posts  on  the  Bay  and  surrender  all  war  material  within  six 
months  ;  Commissioners  were  to  be  appointed  to  determine 
within  a  year  the  boundary  between  Canada  and  the  British 
possessions  on  Hudson  Bay.  Section  XI.  provided  "  that  the 
French  King  should  take  care  that  satisfaction  be  given, 
according  to  the  rule  of  Justice  and  equity,  to  the  English 
Company  trading  to  the  Bay  of  Hudson,  for  all  damages  and 
spoil  done  to  their  colonies,  ships,  persons,  and  goods,  by  the 
hostile  incursions  and  depredations  of  the  French  in  time  of 
peace."  This  was  to  be  arrived  at  by  Commissioners  to  be 
appointed. 

If  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  to  quote  their  own  language 
in  regard  to  the  Treaty  of  Ryswick,  had  been  left  "  the  only 
mourners  by  the  peace,"  they  were  to  be  congratulated  on  the 
results  of  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht.  As  in  so  many  other  cases, 
however,  disputed  points  left  to  be  settled  by  Commissioners 
lingered  long  before  results  were  reached.  Six  years  after  the 
Treaty  of  Utrecht,  the  Memorial  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany shows  that  while  they  had  received  back  their  forts,  yet 
the  line  of  delimitation  between  Canada  had  not  been  drawn 
and  their  losses  had  not  been  paid. 

In  the  preceding  chapter  we  have  a  list  of  the  claims  against 
the  French  as  computed  in  1694,  amounting  to  upwards  of 


60  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY    COMPANY 

200,0002. ;  now,  however,  the  amount  demanded  is  not  much 
above  100,000/.,  though  the  Memorial  explains  that  in  making 
up  the  above  modest  sum,  they  had  not  counted  up  the  loss  of 
their  forts,  nor  the  damage  done  to  their  trade,  as  had  been 
done  in  the  former  case.  Immediately  after  the  time  of  this 
Memorial  of  the  Company,  the  Commissioners  were  named  by 
Great  Britain  and  France,  and  several  meetings  took  place. 
Statements  were  then  given  in,  chiefly  as  to  the  boundaries 
between  the  British  and  French  possessions  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Hudson  Bay  and  Canada.  The  Commissioners  for 
several  years  practised  all  the  arts  of  diplomacy,  and  were 
farther  and  farther  apart  as  the  discussions  went  on.  No 
result  seems  to  have  been  reached,  and  the  claims  of  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company,  so  far  as  recorded,  were  never  met. 
Peace,  however,  prevailed  in  Hudson  Bay  for  many  years  ; 
the  Indians  from  the  interior,  even  to  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
made  their  visits  to  the  Bay  for  the  first  forty  years  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  the  fur  trade,  undisturbed,  became 
again  remunerative. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

DREAM   OF   A   NORTH-WEST   PASSAGE. 

Stock  rises — Jealousy  aroused — Arthur  Dobbs,  Esq. — An  ingenious 
attack — Appeal  to  the  "  Old  Worthies  " — Captain  Christopher 
Middleton — Was  the  Company  in  earnest  ? — The  sloop  Furnace — 
Dobbs'  fierce  attack — The  great  subscription— Independent 
expedition — "  Henry  Ellis,  gentleman  " — "  Without  success  " — • 
Dobbs'  real  purpose. 

WHEN  peace  had  been  restored  by  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  the 
shores  of  the  Bay,  which  had  been  in  the  hands  of  the  French 
since  the  Treaty  of  Ryswick,  were  given  over  to  Great  Britain, 
according  to  the  terms  of  the  Treaty  ;  they  have  remained 
British  ever  since.  The  Company,  freed  from  the  fears  of 
overland  incursions  by  the  French  from  Canada,  and  from  the 
fleets  that  had  worked  so  much  mischief  by  sea,  seems  to  have 
changed  character  in  the  personnel  of  the  stockholders  and 
to  have  lost  a  good  deal  of  the  pristine  spirit.  The  charge 
is  made  that  the  stockholders  had  become  very  few,  that 
the  stock  was  controlled  by  a  majority,  who,  year  after 
year,  elected  themselves,  and  that  considering  the  great 
privileges  conferred  by  the  Charter,  the  Company  was  failing 
to  develop  the  country  and  was  sleeping  in  inglorious  ease 
on  the  shores  of  Hudson  Bay.  Certain  it  is  that  Sir  Bibye 
Lake  was  re-elected  Governor  year  after  year,  from  1720 
to  1740. 

It  would  appear,  however,  to  have  been  a  spirit  of  jealousy 
which  animated  those  who  made  these  discoveries  as  to  the 
Company's  inaction.  The  return  of  peace  had  brought  pros- 
perity to  the  traders  ;  and  dividends  to  the  stockholders  began 
to  be  a  feature  of  company  life  which  they  had  not  known  for 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  As  we  shall  see,  the  stock  of 

61 


62  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

the  Company  was  greatly  increased  in  1720,  and  preparations 
were  being  made  by  the  Committee  for  a  wide  extension  of 
their  operations. 

About  this  time  a  man  of  great  personal  energy  appears  on 
the  scene  of  English  commercial  life,  who  became  a  bitter 
opponent  of  the  Company,  and  possessed  such  influence  with 
the  English  Government  that  the  Company  was  compelled  to 
make  a  strenuous  defence.  This  was  Arthur  Dobbs,  Esq.,  an 
Irishman  of  undoubted  ability  and  courage.  He  conducted 
his  plan  of  campaign  against  the  Company  along  a  most  in- 
genious and  dangerous  line  of  attack. 

He  revived  the  memory  among  the  British  people  of  the 
early  voyages  to  discover  a  way  to  the  riches  of  the  East,  and 
appealed  to  the  English  imagination  by  picturing  the  interior 
of  the  North  American  Continent,  with  its  vast  meadows, 
splendid  cascades,  rich  fur-bearing  animals,  and  numberless 
races  of  Indians,  picturesquely  dressed,  as  opening  up  a  field, 
if  they  could  be  reached,  of  lucrative  trade  to  the  London 
merchants.  To  further  his  purpose  he  pointed  out  the  sluggish 
character  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  clinched  his 
arguments  by  quoting  the  paragraph  in  the  Charter  which 
stated  that  the  great  privileges  conferred  by  generous  Charles 
II.  were  bestowed  in  consideration  of  their  object  having  been 
' '  The  Discovery  of  a  New  Passage  into  the  South  Sea."  Dobbs 
appealed  to  the  sacrifices  made  and  the  glories  achieved  in 
earlier  days  in  the  attempt  to  discover  the  North- West  Passage. 
In  scores  of  pages,  the  indefatigable  writer  gives  the  accounts 
of  the  early  voyages. 

We  have  but  to  give  a  passage  or  two  from  another  author 
to  show  what  a  powerful  weapon  Dobbs  wielded,  and  to  see 
how  he  succeeded  in  reviving  a  question  which  had  slumbered 
well  nigh  a  hundred  years,  and  which  again  became  a  living 
question  in  the  nineteenth  century. 

This  writer  says  : — "  It  would  lead  us  far  beyond  our  limits 
were  we  to  chronicle  all  the  reasons  urged,  and  the  attempts 
made  to  '  finde  out  that  short  and  easie  passage  by  the  North- 
west, which  we  have  hitherto  so  long  desired/  Under  the 
auspices  of  the  '  Old  Worthies  '  really — though  ostensibly 
countenanced  by  kings,  queens,  and  nobles — up  rose  a  race  of 


DREAM   OF   A    NORTH-WEST   PASSAGE       63 

men,  daring  and  enthusiastic,  whose  names  would  add  honour 
to  any  country,  and  embalm  its  history. 

"  Commencing  with  the  reign  of  Henry  VII.,  we  have  first, 
John  Cabot  (1497),  ever  renowned  ;  for  he  it  was  who  first  saw 
and  claimed  for  the  '  Banner  of  England/  the  American  con- 
tinent. Sebastian,  his  son,  follows  in  the  next  year — a  name 
honourable  and  wise.  Nor  may  we  omit  Master  Eobert 
Thome  of  Bristol  (1527)  ;  Master  Hore  (1536)  ;  and  Master 
Michael  Lok  (1545),  of  London — men  who  knew  '  cosmog- 
raphy '  and  the  '  weighty  and  substantial  reasons  '  for  '  a 
discovery  even  to  the  North  Pole/  For  a  short  time  Arctic 
energy  changed  its  direction  from  the  North-west  to  the  North- 
east (discoveries  of  the  Muscovy  Company),  but  wanting  suc- 
cess in  that  quarter,  again  reverted  to  the  North-west.  Then 
we  find  Martin  Frobisher,  George  Best,  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert, 
James  Davis,  George  Waymouth,  John  Knight,  the  cruelly 
treated  Henry  Hudson,  James  Hall,  Sir  Thomas  Button, 
Fotherbye,  Baffin  and  Bylot, '  North-west '  Luke  Fox,  Thomas 
James,  &c. 

"  Thus,  in  the  course  of  sixty  years — now  breaking  the  icy 
fetters  of  the  North,  now  chained  by  them  ;  now  big  with  high 
hope '  of  the  Passage/  then  beaten  back  by  the  terrific  obstacles, 
as  it  were,  guarding  it — notwithstanding,  these  men  never 
faltered,  never  despaired  of  finally  accomplishing  it.  Their 
names  are  worthy  to  be  held  in  remembrance  ;  for,  with  all 
their  faults,  all  their  strange  fancies  and  prejudices,  still  they 
were  a  daring  and  glorious  race,  calm  amid  the  most  appalling 
dangers  ;  what  they  did  was  done  correctly,  as  far  as  their 
limited  means  went ;  each  added  something  that  gave  us  more 
extended  views  and  a  better  acquaintance  with  the  globe  we 
inhabit— giving  especially  large  contributions  to  geography, 
with  a  more  fixed  resolution  to  discover  the  '  Passage/  By 
them  the  whole  of  the  eastern  face  of  North  America  was  made 
known,  and  its  disjointed  lands  in  the  North,  even  to  77  deg. 
or  78  deg.  N.  Their  names  will  last  while  England  is  true  to 

herself." 

Mr.  Dobbs  awakened  much  interest  among  persons  of  rank  in 
England  as  to  the  desirability  of  finding  a  North-West  Passage. 
Especially  to  the  Lords  of  the  Admiralty,  on^whom  he  had  a 


64  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

strong  hold,  did  he  represent  the  glory  and  value  of  fitting  out 
an  expedition  to  Hudson  Bay  on  this  quest. 

Dobbs  mentions  in  his  book  the  unwilling  efforts  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  to  meet  the  demand  for  a  wider 
examination  of  the  Bay  which  took  place  a  few  years  after  the 
Peace  of  Utrecht.  In  1719,  Captain  James  Knight  received 
orders  from  the  Company  to  fit  out  an  expedition  and  sail  up 
the  west  coast  of  the  Bay.  This  he  did  in  two  ships,  the 
Albany  frigate,  Captain  George  Barlow,  and  the  Discovery, 
Captain  David  Vaughan.  Captain  John  Scroggs,  in  the  ship 
Whalebone,  two  years  afterward,  sailed  up  the  coast  in  search 
of  the  expedition.  It  is  maintained  by  the  opponents  of  the 
Company  that  these  attempts  were  a  mere  blind  to  meet  the 
search  for  a  North-West  Passage,  and  that  the  Company  was 
averse  to  any  real  investigation  being  made. 

It  is  of  course  impossible  to  say  whether  this  charge  was 
deserved  or  not.  The  fact  that  no  practicable  North-West 
Passage  has  ever  been  discovered  renders  the  arguments 
drawn  from  the  running  of  the  tides,  &c.,  of  no  value,  and 
certainly  justifies  the  Company  to  some  extent  in  its  inaction. 
The  fact  that  in  1736  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  yielded  to 
the  claim  raised  by  Dobbs  and  his  associates,  is  to  be  noted 
in  favour  of  the  Company's  contention  that  while  not  believing 
in  the  existence  of  the  North-West  Passage,  they  were  willing 
to  satisfy  the  excited  mind  of  the  English  public.  Their 
expedition  of  the  Churchill  sloop,  Captain  Napper,  and  the 
Musquash  sloop,  Captain  Crow,  accomplished  nothing  in 
solving  the  question  in  dispute. 

Disappointed  with  the  efforts  made  by  the  Company  at  his 
request,  Dobbs,  in  1737,  took  in  hand  to  organize  an  expedition 
under  Government  direction  to  go  upon  the  search  of  the 
"  Passage."  At  this  time  he  opened  communication  with 
Captain  Christopher  Middleton,  one  of  the  best  known  captains 
in  the  service  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  Middleton, 
being  satisfied  with  the  Company's  service,  refused  to  leave  it. 
Dobbs  then  asked  him  to  recommend  a  suitable  man,  and  also 
arranged  with  Middleton  to  be  allowed  to  examine  the  records 
kept  of  his  voyages,  upon  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  ships. 
This,  however,  came  to  nothing. 


DREAM   OF   A    NORTH-WEST  PASSAGE       65 

About  1740  Captain  Middleton  had  cause  to  differ  with  the 
Company  on  business  matters,  and  entertained  Dobbs'  pro- 
position, which  was  that  he  should  be  placed  in  command  of 
a  British  man-of-war  and  go  in  search  of  the  long-sought  North- 
West  Passage.  Middleton  gave  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
a  year's  notice,  but  found  them  unwilling  to  let  him  retire. 

He  had  taken  the  step  of  resigning  deliberately  and  adhered 
to  it,  though  he  was  disappointed  in  his  command  not  being  so 
remunerative  as  he  expected.  In  May,  1741,  Captain  Middle- 
ton  received  his  orders  from  the  Lords  of  the  Admiralty  to 
proceed  upon  his  journey  and  to  follow  the  directions  given  him 
as  to  finding  a  North-West  Passage.  These  had  been  prepared 
under  Dobbs'  supervision.  Directions  are  given  as  to  his 
course  of  procedure,  should  he  reach  California,  and  also  as 
to  what  should  be  done  in  case  of  meeting  Japanese  ships. 
Middleton  was  placed  in  charge  of  Her  Majesty's  sloop  the 
Furnace,  and  had  as  a  companion  and  under  his  orders  the 
Discovery  Pink,  William  Moore,  Master.  In  due  time,  Hudson 
Bay  was  reached,  but  in  August  the  season  seemed  rather  late 
to  proceed  northward  from  "  Gary's  Swan's  Nest,"  and  it  was 
decided  to  winter  in  the  mouth  of  Churchill  River. 

On  July  1st,  1742,  the  expedition  proceeded  northward. 
Most  complete  observations  were  made  of  weather,  land, 
presence  of  ice,  natives  of  the  coast,  depth  of  bay,  rivers 
entering  bay,  tides,  and  any  possible  outlets  as  far  as  88  deg. 
or  89  deg.  W.  longitude.  Observations  were  continued  until 
August  18th,  when  the  expedition  sailed  home  to  report  what 
it  had  found. 

Captain  Middleton  read  an  important  paper  on  "  The  Ex- 
traordinary Degrees  and  Surprising  Effects  of  Cold  in  Hudson 
Bay,"  before  the  Royal  Society  in  London. 

No  sooner  had  Middleton  reached  the  Orkneys  on  his  return 
voyage  than  he  forwarded  to  Dobbs,  who  was  in  Ireland,  a 
letter  and  an  abstract  of  his  journal.  Lest  this  should  have 
gone  astray,  he  sent  another  copy  on  his  arrival  in  the  Thames. 
The  report  was,  on  the  whole,  discouraging  as  to  the  existence 
of  a  north-west  passage. 

Dobbs,  however,  was  unwilling  to  give  up  his  dream,  and 
soon  began  to  discredit  Middleton.     He  dealt  privately  with 
F 


66  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

the  other  officers  of  the  ships,  Middleton's  subordinates,  and 
with  surprising  skill  turned  the  case  against  Captain  Middleton. 

The  case  of  Dobbs  against  Captain  Middleton  has  been  well 
stated  by  John  Barrow.  Middleton  was  charged  with  neglect 
in  having  failed  to  explore  the  line  of  coast  which  afforded  a 
probability  of  a  passage  to  the  north-west.  The  principal 
points  at  issue  appear  to  have  been  in  respect  to  the  following 
discoveries  of  Middleton,  viz.  the  Wager  River,  Repulse  Bay, 
and  the  Frozen  Strait.  As  regards  the  first,  Mr.  Dobbs 
asserted  that  the  tide  came  through  the  so-called  river  from 
the  westward  ;  and  this  question  was  settled  in  the  following 
year  by  Captain  Moore,  who  entirely  confirmed  Captain 
Middleton's  report. 

Repulse  Bay,  which  well  deserves  the  name  it  bears,  was  no 
less  accurately  laid  down  by  Captain  Middleton,  and  of  the 
Frozen  Strait,  Sir  Edward  Parry  remarks,  "  Above  all,  the 
accuracy  of  Captain  Middleton  is  manifest  upon  the  point 
most  strenuously  urged  against  him,  for  our  subsequent 
experience  has  not  left  the  smallest  doubt  of  Repulse  Bay 
and  the  northern  part  of  Welcome  Bay  being  filled  by  a  rapid 
tide,  flowing  into  it  from  the  eastward  through  the  Frozen 
Strait/' 

Dobbs,  by  a  high  order  of  logic  chopping,  succeeded  in 
turning  the  case,  for  the  time  being,  against  Captain  Middleton. 
Seldom  has  greater  skill  been  used  to  win  a  cause.  He  quotes 
with  considerable  effect  a  letter  by  Sir  Bibye  Lake,  addressed 
to  the  Governor  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  Fort,  Churchill  River, 
reading  :  "  Notwithstanding  an  order  to  you,  if  Captain 
Middleton  (who  is  sent  ahead  in  the  Government's  service  to 
discover  a  passage  north-west)  should  by  inevitable  necessity 
be  brought  into  real  distress  and  danger  of  his  life  and  loss  of 
his  ship,  in  such  case  you  are  then  to  give  him  the  best  assist- 
ance and  relief  you  can."  Dobbs5  whole  effort  seems  to  be 
to  show  that  Middleton  was  hiding  the  truth,  and  this,  under 
the  influence  of  his  old  masters,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 
A  copy  of  Dobbs'  Criticisms,  laid  before  the  Lords  of  the 
Admiralty,  was  furnished  Captain  Middleton,  and  his  answer 
is  found  in  "  Vindication  of  the  Conduct,"  published  in  1743. 
"  An  Account  of  the  Countries  adjoining  to  Hudson  Bay"  by 


DREAM   OF   A    NORTH-WEST   PASSAGE       67 

Arthur  Dobbs,  Esq.,  is  a  book  published  in  the  year  after,  and 
is  really  a  book  of  note.  A  quarto,  consisting  of  upwards  of 
200  pages,  it  showed  a  marvellous  knowledge  of  colonization 
in  America,  of  the  interior  of  the  continent  at  that  time,  and 
incidentally  deals  with  Captain  Middleton's  journal.  Its  ac- 
count of  the  journey  of  "  Joseph  La  France,  a  French  Canadese 
Indian,"  from  Lake  Superior  by  way  of  Lake  Winnipeg  to 
Hudson  Bay,  is  the  first  detailed  account  on  record  of  that 
voyage  being  made.  Evidently  Arthur  Dobbs  had  caught  the 
ear  of  the  English  people,  and  the  Company  was  compelled  to 
put  itself  in  a  thorough  attitude  of  defence. 

Dobbs  with  amazing  energy  worked  up  his  cause,  and  what 
a  writer  of  the  time  calls, '  *  The  long  and  warm  dispute  between 
Arthur  Dobbs,  Esq.  and  Captain  Middleton,"  gained  much 
public  notice.  The  glamour  of  the  subject  of  a  north-west 
passage,  going  back  to  the  exploits  of  Frobisher,  Baffin,  and 
Button,  touched  the  national  fancy,  and  no  doubt  the  charge 
of  wilful  concealment  of  the  truth  made  against  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  repeated  so  strenuously  by  Dobbs,  gained  him 
adherents.  Parliament  took  action  in  the  matter  and  voted 
20,OOOJ.  as  a  reward  for  the  discovery  of  a  north-west  passage. 
This  caused  another  wave  of  enthusiasm,  and  immediately  a 
subscription  was  opened  for  the  purpose  of  raising  10,000/.  to 
equip  an  expedition  for  this  popular  enterprise.  It  was  pro- 
posed to  divide  the  whole  into  100  shares  of  100Z.  each.  A 
vigorous  canvass  was  made  to  secure  the  amount,  and  the 
subscription  list  bears  the  names  of  several  nobles,  an  arch- 
bishop, a  bishop,  and  many  esquires.  A  perusal  of  the  names 
suggests  that  a  number  of  them  are  Irish,  and  no  doubt  were 
obtained  by  Mr.  Dobbs,  who  was  often  at  Lisburn  in  Ireland. 
The  amount  raised  was  7,200Z.  The  expedition,  we  hear  after- 
wards, cost  upwards  of  10,OOOJ.,  but  the  money  needed  was, 
we  are  told,  willingly  contributed  by  those  who  undertook  the 
enterprise.  Mr.  Dobbs,  as  was  suitable,  was  a  leading  spirit 
on  the  Committee  of  Management. 

Two  ships  were  purchased  by  the  Committee,  the  Dobbs 
galley,  180  tons  burden,  Captain  William  Moore,  and  the 
California,  140  tons,  Captain  Francis  Smith.  On  May  24th, 
1746,  the  two  vessels,  provisioned  and  well  fitted  out  for  the 


68  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

voyage,  left  the  mouth  of  the  Thames,  being  in  company  with 
the  two  ships  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  going  to  the  Bay, 
the  four  ships  being  under  the  convoy  of  the  ship  Loo,  of  forty 
guns;  as  France  was  at  this  time  at  war  with  England.  The 
voyage  was  rather  prosperous,  with  the  exception  of  a  very 
exciting  incident  on  board  the  Dobbs  galley.  A  dangerous  fire 
broke  out  in  the  cabin  of  the  vessel,  and  threatened  to  reach 
the  powder-room,  which  was  directly  underneath,  and  con- 
tained "  thirty  or  forty  barrels  of  powder,  candles,  spirits, 
matches,  and  all  manner  of  combustibles."  Though,  as  the 
writer  says,  "  during  the  excitement,  you  might  hear  all  the 
varieties  of  sea  eloquence,  cries,  prayers,  curses,  and  scolding, 
mingled  together,  yet  this  did  not  prevent  the  proper  measures 
being  taken  to  save  the  ship  and  our  lives/' 

The  story  of  the  voyage  is  given  to  us  in  a  very  interesting 
manner  by  Henry  Ellis,  gentleman,  agent  for  the  proprietors 
of  the  expedition.  Though  nearly  one  hundred  pages  are  taken 
up  with  the  inevitable  summaries  of  "  The  Several  Expeditions 
to  discover  a  North-West  Passage/1  yet  the  remaining  portion 
of  the  book  is  well  written.  After  the  usual  struggle  with  the 
ice  in  Hudson  Strait,  as  it  was  impossible  to  explore  southward 
during  the  first  season,  the  Dobbs  galley  and  the  California 
sailed  for  Port  Nelson,  intending  to  winter  there.  They  arrived 
on  August  26th.  Ellis  states  that  they  were  badly  received 
by  the  Hudson's  Bay  officers  at  the  first.  They,  however, 
laid  up  their  ships  in  Hayes  River,  and  built  an  erection  of 
logs  on  the  shore  for  the  staff.  The  officers'  winter  quarters 
were  called  "  Montague  House,"  named  after  the  Duke  of 
Montague,  patron  of  the  expedition.  After  a  severe  winter, 
during  which  the  sailors  suffered  with  scurvy,  and,  according 
to  Ellis,  received  little  sympathy  from  the  occupants  of  York 
Fort,  the  expedition  left  the  mouth  of  the  Hayes  River  on 
June  24th,  to  prosecute  their  discovery.  After  spending  the 
summer  coasting  Hudson  Bay  and  taking  careful  notes,  the 
officers  of  the  vessels  gladly  left  the  inhospitable  shore  to  sail 
homeward,  and  the  two  ships  arrived  in  Yarmouth  Roads  on 
October  14th,  1747. 

"  Thus  ended,"  says  Ellis,  "  this  voyage,  without  success 
indeed,  but  not  without  effect ;  for  though  we  did  not  discover 


DREAM   OF   A    NORTH-WEST   PASSAGE       69 

a  north-west  passage  ...  we  returned  with  clearer  and  fuller 
proofs  .  .  .  that  evidently  such  a  passage  there  may  be/'  It 
will  be  observed  that  Ellis  very  much  confirms  Captain 
Middleton's  conclusions,  but  Mr.  Dobbs  no  doubt  made  the 
best  of  his  disappointment,  and,  as  we  shall  see,  soon  developed 
what  had  been  from  the  first  his  real  object,  the  plan  for 
founding  a  rival  company. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

THE   INTERESTING  BLUE-BOOK   OF    1749. 

"  Le  roi  est  mort  " — Royalty  unfavourable — Earl  of  Halifax — "  Com- 
pany asleep  " — Petition  to  Parliament — Neglected  discovery — 
Timidity  or  caution — Strong  "  Prince  of  Wales  " — Increase  of 
stock — A  timid  witness — Claims  of  discovery — To  make  Indians 
Christians — Charge  of  disloyalty — New  Company  promises  largely 
— Result  nil, 

ARTHUR  DOBBS,  ESQ.,  was  evidently  worsted  in  his  tilt  with 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  His  fierce  onslaught  upon  Cap- 
tain Middleton  was  no  doubt  the  plan  of  attack  to  enable  him 
to  originate  the  expedition  of  the  Dobbs  galley  and  California. 
Even  this  voyage  had  brought  little  better  prospect  of  the 
discovery  of  a  north-west  passage,  except  the  optimistic 
words  of  Ellis,  the  use  of  which,  indeed,  seemed  very  like 
the  delectable  exercise  of  "  extracting  sunbeams  from 
cucumbers." 

But  the  energy  of  the  man  was  in  no  way  dampened.  In- 
deed, the  indications  are,  as  we  survey  the  features  of  the  time, 
that  he  had  strong  backing  in  the  governing  circles  of  the 
country.  Time  was  when  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  basked 
in  the  sunshine  of  the  Court.  It  is,  perhaps,  the  penalty  of  old 
institutions  that  as  rulers  pass  away  and  political  parties 
change,  the  centre  of  gravity  of  influence  shifts.  Perhaps  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  had  not  been  able  to  use  the  conveni- 
ent motto, ' '  Le  Roi  est  mort :  Vive  le  Roi !  "  At  any  rate  the 
strong  Court  influence  of  the  Company  had  passed  away,  and 
there  is  hardly  a  nobleman  to  be  found  on  the  list  of  stock- 
holders submitted  by  the  Company  to  the  Committee  of  the 
Lords. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  Henry  Ellis,  the  historian  of  the 

70 


THE   INTERESTING   BLUE-BOOK   OF    1749     71 

expedition,  writes  his  book  in  the  year  after  his  return,  he  is 
permitted  to  dedicate  it  to  His  Royal  Highness  Frederick, 
Prince  of  Wales,  is  privileged  to  refer  in  his  dedication  to  a 
"  gracious  audience  "  allowed  him  by  the  Prince  after  his 
return,  and  to  speak  of  "  the  generous  care  "  expressed  by  the 
Prince  "  for  the  happy  progress  of  his  design."  Again,  in  a 
similar  dedication  of  a  book  written  four  years  afterwards  by 
Joseph  Robson,  a  former  employe  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany, but  a  book  full  of  hostility  to  the  Company,  allusion  is 
made  to  the  fact  that  the  Earl  of  Halifax,  Lord  Commissioner 
of  Trade  and  Plantations,  gave  his  most  hearty  approval  to 
such  plans  as  the  expedition  sought  to  carry  out.  It  is  said  of 
Lord  Halifax,  who  was  called  the  Father  of  Colonies  :  "  He 
knows  the  true  state  of  the  nation — that  it  depends  on  trade 
and  manufactures  ;  that  we  have  more  rivals  than  ever  ;  that 
navigation  is  our  bulwark  and  Colonies  our  chief  support ;  and 
that  new  channels  should  bo  industriously  opened.  Therefore, 
we  survey  the  whole  globe  in  search  of  fresh  inlets  which  our 
ships  may  enter  and  traffic."  Those  familiar  with  the  work  of 
Lord  Halifax  will  remember  that  the  great  colonization  scheme 
by  which  Nova  Scotia  was  firmly  grappled  to  the  British 
Empire  and  the  City  of  Halifax  founded,  was  hi^  ;  and  the 
charge  made  by  Dobbs  that  for  a  generation  the  "  Company 
had  slept  on  the  shores  of  the  Bay,"  would  appeal  with  force 
to  a  man  of  such  energetic  and  progressive  nature  as  the  Lord 
Commissioner. 

Accordingly,  Dobbs  now  came  out  boldly  ;  not  putting  the 
discovery  of  the  North- West  Passage  in  the  front  of  his  plan, 
but  openly  charging  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  with  indolence 
and  failure,  and  asking  for  the  granting  of  a  charter  to  a  rival 
company. 

As  summed  up  by  the  sub -committee  to  which  the  petition 
of  Dobbs  and  his  associates  was  submitted,  the  charges 
were  : — 

I.  The  Company  had  not  discovered,  nor  sufficiently  at- 
tempted to  discover,  the  North-West  Passage  into  the  southern 


II.  They  had  not  extended  their  settlements  to  the  limits 
given  them  by  their  Charter. 


72  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

III.  They  had  designedly  confined  their  trade  within  very 
narrow  limits  : 

•  (a)  Had  abused  the  Indians. 

(b)  Had  neglected  their  forts. 

(c)  Ill-treated  their  own  servants. 

(d)  Encouraged  the  French. 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  now  put  on  their  mettle, 
exhibited  a  considerable  amount  of  activity,  and  filed  docu- 
ments before  the  Committee  that  in  some  respects  met  the 
charges  against  them.  They  claimed  that  they  had  in  the 
thirty  years  preceding  the  investigation  done  a  fair  amount  of 
exploratory  work  and  discovery.  In  1719,  they  had  sent  out 
the  Albany  frigate  and  Discovery  to  the  northern  regions,  and 
neither  of  them  returned  to  tell  the  tale.  In  the  same  year  its 
vessels  on  the  Bay,  the  Prosperous  and  the  Success,  one  from 
York  Factory,  the  other  from  Prince  of  Wales  Fort,  had  sailed 
up  the  coast  on  exploratory  expeditions.  Two  years  after- 
ward, the  Prosperous,  under  Kelsey,  made  a  voyage,  and  the 
Success,  under  Captain  Napper,  had  sailed  from  York  Fort  and 
was  lost.  In  the  same  year  the  Whalebone,  under  Captain  John 
Scroggs,  went  from  England  to  Prince  of  Wales  Fort,  and  after 
wintering  there,  in  the  following  year  made  a  decided  effort  on 
behalf  of  the  Passage,  but  returned  unsuccessful.  In  the  year 
when  Dobbs  became  so  persistent  (1737)  James  Napper,  who 
had  been  saved  from  the  wreck  of  the  Success  sixteen  years 
before,  took  command  of  the  Churchill  from  Prince  of  Wales 
Fort,  but  on  the  exploration  died,  and  the  vessel  returned.  The 
Musquash,  under  Captain  Crow,  accompanied  the  Churchill, 
but  returned  with  no  hope  of  success.  This  was  the  case 
presented  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  It  was  still  open 
to  the  opponents  of  the  Company  to  say,  as  they  did,  that  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  not  in  earnest,  wanted  nothing 
done  to  attract  rivals,  and  were  adepts  in  concealing  their 
operations  and  in  hoodwinking  the  public. 

A  more  serious  charge  was  that  they  had  not  sought  to  reach 
the  interior,  but  had  confined  their  trade  to  the  shores  of  the 
Bay.  Here  it  seems  that  the  opponents  of  the  Company  made 
a  better  case.  It  is  indeed  unaccountable  to  us  to-day,  as  we 
think  that  the  Company  had  now  been  eighty  years  trading 


THE    INTERESTING   BLUE-BOOK   OF    1749     73 

on  the  Bay  and  had  practically  no  knowledge  of  the  inheritance 
possessed  by  them.  At  this  very  time  the  French,  by  way  of 
Lake  Superior,  had  journeyed  inland,  met  Indian  tribes,  traded 
with  them,  and  even  with  imposing  ceremonies  buried  metal 
plates  claiming  the  country  which  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
Charter  covered  as  lying  on  rivers,  lakes,  &c.,  tributary  to 
Hudson  Bay.  It  is  true  they  had  submitted  instructions  to  the 
number  of  twenty  or  thirty,  in  which  governors  and  captains 
had  been  urged  to  explore  the  interior  and  extend  the  trade 
among  the  Indian  tribes.  But  little  evidence  could  be  offered 
that  these  communications  had  been  acted  on. 

The  chief  dependence  of  the  Company  seems  to  have  been 
on  one  Henry  Kelsey,  who  went  as  a  boy  to  Hudson  Bay,  but 
rose  to  be  chief  officer  there.  The  critics  of  the  Company  were 
not  slow  to  state  that  Kelsey  had  been  a  refugee  from  then- 
forts  and  had  lived  for  several  seasons  among  the  Indians  of 
the  interior.  Even  if  this  were  so,  it  is  still  true  that  Kelsey 
came  to  be  one  of  the  most  enterprising  of  the  wood-runners  of 
the  Company.  Dobbs  confronted  them  with  the  fact  that  the 
voyage  from  Lake  Superior  to  Hudson  Bay  had  been  only 
made  once  in  their  history,  and  that  by  Joseph  La  France, 
the  Canadian  Indian.  Certainly,  whether  from  timidity, 
caution,  inertia,  or  from  some  deep-seated  system  of  policy, 
it  was  true  that  the  Company  had  done  little  to  penetrate  the 
interior. 

The  charge  that  the  Company  abused  the  Indians  was  hardly 
substantiated.  The  Company  was  dependent  on  the  goodwill 
of  the  Indians,  and  had  they  treated  them  badly,  their  active 
rivals,  the  French,  would  simply  have  reaped  the  benefit  of 
their  folly.  That  the  price  charged  the  Indians  for  goods  was 
as  large  as  the  price  paid  for  furs  was  small,  is  quite  likely  to 
have  been  true.  Civilized  traders  all  the  world  over,  dealing 
with  ignorant  and  dependent  tribes,  follow  this  policy.  No 
doubt  the  risks  of  life  and  limb  and  goods  in  remote  regions  are 
great,  and  great  profits  must  be  made  to  meet  them.  It  is  to 
be  remembered,  however,  that  when  English  and  French 
traders  came  into  competition,  as  among  the  Iroquois  in  New 
York  State,  and  afterwards  in  the  Lake  Superior  district,  the 
quality  of  the  English  goods  was  declared  by  the  Indians  better 


74  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

and  their  treatment  by  the  English  on  the  whole  more  honest 
and  aboveboard  than  that  by  the  French. 

That  traders  should  neglect  their  own  forts  seems  very  un- 
likely. Those  going  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Main  expected  few 
luxuries,  and  certainly  did  not  have  an  easy  life,  but  there  was 
on  the  part  of  the  Company  a  vast  difference  in  treatment  as 
compared  with  that  given  to  the  fur  traders  in  New  France  as 
they  went  to  the  far  west.  No  doubt  pressure  for  dividends 
prevented  expenditure  that  was  unnecessary,  but  a  perusal  of 
the  experience  of  Champlain  with  his  French  fur  company 
leads  us  to  believe  that  the  English  were  far  the  more  liberal 
and  considerate  in  the  treatment  of  employes. 

The  fortress  of  the  River  Churchill,  known  as  the  Prince  of 
Wales  Fort,  with  its  great  ruins  to  be  seen  to-day,  belonging 
to  this  period,  speaks  of  a  large  expense  and  a  high  ideal  of 
what  a  fort  ought  to  be.  During  the  examination  of  witnesses 
by  the  Committee,  full  opportunity  was  given  to  show  cases  of 
ill-treatment  of  men  and  poor  administration  of  their  forts. 
Twenty  witnesses  were  examined,  and  they  included  captains, 
merchants,  and  employes,  many  of  whom  had  been  in  the 
service  of  the  Company  on  the  Bay,  but  whether,  as  Robson 
says,  "  It  must  be  attributed  either  to  their  confusion  upon 
appearing  before  so  awful  an  assembly,  or  to  their  having  a 
dependence  on  the  Company  and  an  expectation  of  being 
employed  again  in  their  service/'  little  was  elicited  at  all 
damaging  to  the  Company. 

The  charge  of  the  fewness  of  the  forts  and  the  smallness  of 
the  trade  was  more  serious.  That  they  should  have  a  mono- 
poly of  the  trade,  and  should  neither  develop  it  themselves, 
nor  allow  others  to  develop  it,  would  have  been  to  pursue  a 
"  dog  in  the  manger  "  policy.  They  stated  that  they  had  on 
an  average  three  ships  employed  solely  on  their  business,  that 
their  exports  for  ten  years  immediately  preceding  amounted  to 
40,240/.  and  their  imports  122,8352.,  which  they  claimed  was 
a  balance  of  trade  satisfactory  to  England. 

The  objection  that  the  whole  capital  of  the  Company  at  the 
commencement,  10,500/.,  was  trifling,  was  perhaps  true,  but 
they  had  made  great  profits,  and  they  used  them  in  the  pur- 
chase of  ships  and  the  building  of  forts,  and  now  had  a  much 


THE   INTERESTING   BLUE-BOOK   OF   1749     75 

more  valuable  property  than  at  the  beginning.  That  they  had 
been  able  to  increase  their  stock  so  largely  was  a  tribute  to  the 
profits  of  their  business  and  to  its  ability  to  earn  dividends  on 
a  greatly  increased  capital  stock. 

The  increase  of  stock  as  shown  by  the  Company  was  as 
follows  : — 

Original  stock £10,500 

Trebled  in  1690 31,500 

Trebled  in  1720 94,500 

At  this  time  there  was  a  movement  to  greatly  increase  the 
stock,  but  the  stringency  of  the  money  market  checked  this 
movement,  and  subscriptions  of  ten  per  cent,  were  taken, 
amounting  to  3,150/.  only.  This  was  also  trebled  and  added 
to  the  original  94,500/.,  making  a  total  stock  of  103,950/. 

Some  three  years  after  the  investigation  by  the  Committee, 
one  of  the  witnesses,  Joseph  Robson,  who  gave  evidence  of  the 
very  mildest,  most  non-committal  character,  appears  to  have 
received  new  light,  for  he  published  a  book  called,  "  An 
Account  of  Six  Years'  Residence  in  Hudson's  Bay."  He  says 
in  the  preface,  speaking  of  the  evidence  given  by  him  in  the 
investigation,  "  For  want  of  confidence  and  ability  to  express 
myself  clearly,  the  account  I  then  gave  was  far  from  being  so 
exact  and  full  as  that  which  I  intended  to  have  given."  What 
the  influence  was  that  so  effectually  opened  Robson's  eyes,  we 
do  not  know.  The  second  part  of  this  work  is  a  critique  of  the 
evidence  furnished  by  the  Company,  and  from  the  vigour  em- 
ployed by  this  writer  as  compared  with  the  apathy  shown  at 
the  investigation,  it  is  generally  believed  that  in  the  meantime 
he  had  become  a  dependent  of  Dobbs. 

The  plea  put  forward  by  the  petitioners  for  the  granting  of  a 
charter  to  them  contained  several  particulars.  They  had,  at 
their  own  cost  and  charges,  fitted  out  two  ships,  the  Dobbs 
galley  and  California,  in  search  of  the  North-West  Passage  to 
the  West  and  Southern  Ocean.  Their  object  was,  they  claimed, 
a  patriotic  one,  and  they  aimed  at  extending  the  trade  of  Great 
Britain.  They  maintained  that  though  the  reward  offered 
had  been  20,000?.,  it  was  not  sufficient  to  accomplish  the  end, 
as  they  had  already  spent  more  than  half  of  that  sum.  Not- 


76  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

withstanding  this,  they  had  discovered  a  number  of  bays,  inlets, 
and  coasts  before  unknown,  and  inasmuch  as  this  was  the 
ground  of  the  Charter  issued  by  Charles  II.  to  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  they  claimed  like  consideration  for  performing 
a  similar  service. 

The  petitioners  made  the  most  ample  promise  as  to  their 
future  should  the  charter  be  granted.  They  would  persevere 
in  their  search  for  the  passage  to  the  Southern  Ocean  of 
America,  of  which,  notwithstanding  the  frequent  failures  in 
finding  it,  they  had  a  strong  hope.  The  forward  policy  of 
Lord  Halifax  of  extensive  colonization  they  were  heartily  in 
favour  of,  and  they  undertook  to  settle  the  lands  they  might 
discover.  The  question  had  been  raised  during  the  investiga- 
tion, whether  the  Company  had  done  anything  to  civilize  the 
natives.  They  had  certainly  done  nothing.  Probably  their 
answer  was  that  they  were  a  trading  company,  and  never  saw 
the  Indians  except  in  the  months  of  the  trading  season,  when 
in  July  and  August  they  presented  themselves  from  the  in- 
terior at  the  several  factories.  The  petitioners  promised,  in 
regard  to  the  natives,  that  they  would  "  lay  the  foundation  for 
their  becoming  Christians  and  industrious  subjects  of  His 
Majesty."  Beyond  the  sending  out  of  a  prayer-book  from 
time  to  time,  which  seemed  to  indicate  a  desire  to  maintain 
service  among  their  servants,  the  Company  had  taken  no 
steps  in  this  direction. 

The  closing  argument  for  the  bestowal  of  a  charter  was  that 
they  would  prevent  French  encroachments  upon  British  rights 
and  trade  on  the  continent  of  America.  The  petition  makes 
the  very  strong  statement  that  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
had  connived  at,  or  allowed  French  and  English  to  encroach, 
settle,  and  trade  within  their  limits  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Bay.  Whatever  may  have  been  in  the  mind  of  the  petitioners 
on  this  subject  of  conniving  with  the  French,  a  perusal  of  the 
minutes  of  the  Company  fails  to  show  any  such  disposition. 
The  Company  in  Charles  II. 's  times  was  evidently  more  anti- 
French  than  the  Government.  They  disputed  the  claim  of  the 
French  to  any  part  of  the  Bay,  and  strongly  urged  their  case 
before  the  English  Commissioners  at  the  Treaty  of  Ryswick. 
One  of  their  documents,  seemingly  showing  them,  to  be  im- 


THE    INTERESTING    BLUE-BOOK    OF    1749     77 

pressed  with  the  claim  of  priority  of  ownership  of  the  French 
King,  did  propose  a  division  of  the  Bay,  giving  the  south  part 
of  the  Bay  to  the  French  and  the  remainder  to  themselves. 
It  is  easy  to  understand  a  trading  company  wishing  peace,  so 
that  trade  might  go  on,  and  knowing  that  Hudson  Bay,  with 
its  enormous  coast  line,  afforded  wide  room  for  trade,  proposing 
such  a  settlement. 

No  doubt,  however,  the  reference  is  to  the  great  competition 
which  was,  in  a  few  years,  to  extend  through  the  interior  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  This  was  to  be  indeed  a  battle  royal. 
Arthur  Dobbs,  judging  by  his  book,  which  shows  how  far  ahead 
he  was  of  his  opponents  in  foresight,  saw  that  this  must  come, 
and  so  the  new  Company  promises  to  penetrate  the  interior, 
cut  off  the  supply  of  furs  from  the  French,  and  save  the  trade 
to  Britain.  A  quarter  of  a  century  afterwards,  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  slow  to  open  their  eyes,  perceived  it  too,  and 
as  we  shall  see,  rose  from  their  slumbers,  and  entered  the 
conflict. 

The  Report  was  made  to  the  Privy  Council,  expressing 
appreciation  of  the  petition,  and  of  the  advanced  views  enun- 
ciated, but  stating  that  the  case  against  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  had  not  yet  been  made  out.  So  no  new  charter  was 
granted  ! 


CHAPTER   X. 

FRENCH   CANADIANS   EXPLORE   THE   INTERIOR. 

The  "  Western  Sea  " — Ardent  Duluth — "  Kaministiquia  " — Indian 
boasting — Pere  Charlevoix — Father  Gonor — The  man  of  the 
hour  :  Verendrye — Indian  map  maker — The  North  Shore — A  line 
of  forts — The  Assiniboine  country — A  notable  manuscript — A 
marvellous  journey — Glory  but  not  wealth — Post  of  the  Western 
Sea. 

EVEN  the  French  in  Canada  were  animated  in  their  explora- 
tions by  the  dream  of  a  North-West  Passage.  The  name 
Lachine  at  the  rapids  above  Montreal  is  the  memorial  of  La 
Salle's  hope  that  the  Western  Sea  was  to  be  reached  along 
this  channel.  The  Lake  Superior  region  seems  to  have  been 
neglected  for  twenty  years  after  Radisson  and  Groseilliers  had 
visited  Lake  Nepigon,  or  Lake  Assiniboines,  as  they  called  it. 

But  the  intention  of  going  inland  from  Lake  Superior  was 
not  lost  sight  of  by  the  French  explorers,  for  on  a  map  (Parl. 
Lib.  Ottawa)  of  date  1680,  is  the  inscription  in  French  marking 
the  Kaministiquia  or  Pigeon  River,  "  By  this  river  they  go 
to  the  Assinepoulacs,  for  150  leagues  tqward  the  north-west, 
where  there  are  plenty  of  beavers." 

The  stirring  events  which  we  have  described  between  1682 
and  1684,  when  Radisson  deserted  from  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  and  founded  for  the  French  King  Fort  Bourbon  on 
the  Bay,  were  accompanied  by  a  new  movement  toward  Lake 
Superior,  having  the  purpose  of  turning  the  stream  of  trade 
from  Hudson  Bay  southward  to  Lake  Superior. 

At  this  time  Governor  De  La  Barre  writes  from  Canada  that 
the  English  at  Hudson  Bay  had  that  year  attracted  to  them 
many  of  the  northern  Indians,  who  were  in  the  habit  of  coming 
to  Montreal,  and  that  he  had  despatched  thither  Sieur  Duluth, 

78 


FRENCH  CANADIANS  EXPLORE  INTERIOR     79 

who  had  great  influence  over  the  western  Indians.  Greysol<M 
Duluth  was  one  of  the  most  daring  spirits  in  the  service  of 
France  in  Canada.  Duluth  writes  (1684)  to  the  Governor  from 
Lake  Nepigon,  where  he  had  erected  a  fort,  seemingly  near  the 
spot  where  Radisson  and  Groseilliers  had  wintered* 

Duluth  says  in  his  ardent  manner  :  "It  remains  for  me,  sir, 
to  assure  you  that  all  the  savages  of  the  north  have  great  con- 
fidence in  me,  and  that  enables  me  to  promise  you  that  before 
the  lapse  of  two  years  not  a  single  savage  will  visit  the  English 
at  Hudson  Bay.  This  they  have  all  promised  me,  and  have 
bound  themselves  thereto,  by  the  presents  I  have  given,  or 
caused  to  be  given  them.  The  Klistinos,  Assinepoulacs,  &c., 
have  promised  to  come  to  my  fort.  .  .  .  Finally,  sir,  I  wish  to 
lose  my  life  if  I  do  not  absolutely  prevent  the  savages  from 
visiting  the  English." 

Duluth  seems  for  several  years  to  have  carried  on  trade  with 
the  Indians  north  and  west  of  Lake  Nepigon,  and  no  doubt 
prevented  many  of  them  from  going  to  Hudson  Bay.  But  he 
was  not  well  supported  by  the  Governor,  being  poorly  supplied 
with  goods,  and  for  a  time  the  prosecution  of  trade  by  the 
French  in  the  Lake  Superior  region  declined.  The  intense 
interest  created  by  D'Iberville  in  his  victorious  raids  on  Hud- 
son Bay  no  doubt  tended  to  divert  the  attention  of  the  French 
explorers  from  the  trade  with  the  interior.  The  Treaties  of 
Ryswick  and  Utrecht  changed  the  whole  state  of  affairs  for  the 
French  King,  and  deprived  by  the  latter  of  these  treaties  of 
any  hold  on  the  Bay,  the  French  in  Canada  began  to  turn 
their  attention  to  their  deserted  station  on  Lake  Superior. 

Now,  too,  the  reviving  interest  in  England  of  the  scheme  for 
the  discovery  of  the  North- West  Passage  infected  the  French. 
Six  years  after  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  we  find  (MSS.  Ottawa) 
it  stated  :  "  Messrs,  de  Vaudreuil  and  Begin  having  written 
last  year  that  the  discovery  of  the  Western  Sea  would  be 
advantageous  to  the  Colony,  it  was  approved  that  to  reach  it 
M.  de  Vaudreuil  should  establish  these  posts,  which  he  had 
proposed,  and  he  was  instructed  at  the  same  time  to  have  the 
same  established  without  any  expense  accruing  to  the  King 
— as  the  person  establishing  them  would  be  remunerated  by 
trade." 


80  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

In  the  year  1717  the  Governor  sent  out  a  French  lieutenant, 
Sieur  De  la  Noue,  who  founded  a  fort  at  Kaministiquia.  In  a 
letter,  De  la  Noue  states  that  the  Indians  are  well  satisfied 
with  the  fort  he  has  erected,  and  promise  to  bring  there  all 
those  who  had  been  accustomed  to  trade  at  Hudson  Bay. 
Circumstances  seem  to  have  prevented  this  explorer  from 
going  and  establishing  a  fort  at  Tekamiouen  (Rainy  Lake),  and 
a  third  at  the  lake  still  farther  to  the  north-west. 

It  is  somewhat  notable  that  during  the  fifty  years  succeeding 
the  early  voyages  of  Radisson  and  Groseilliers  on  Lake 
Superior,  the  French  were  quite  familiar  with  the  names  of 
lakes  and  rivers  in  the  interior  which  they  had  never  visited. 
It  will  be  remembered,  however,  that  the  same  thing  is  true 
of  the  English  on  Hudson  Bay.  They  knew  the  names 
Assiniboines,  Christinos,  and  the  like  as  familiar  terms, 
although  they  had  not  left  the  Bay. 

The  reason  of  this  is  easily  seen.  The  North-West  Indian  is 
a  great  narrator.  He  tells  of  large  territories,  vast  seas,  and  is, 
in  fact,  in  the  speech  of  Hiawatha,  "  lagoo,  the  great  boaster." 
He  could  map  out  his  route  upon  a  piece  of  birch-bark,  and  the 
maps  still  made  by  the  wild  North- Western  Indians  are  quite 
worthy  of  note. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  objection  brought  by  the  French 
against  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  of  clinging  to  the  shores  of 
the  Bay,  may  be  equally  charged  against  the  French  on  the 
shore  of  Lake  Superior,  or  at  least  of  Lake  Nepigon,  for  the 
period  from  its  first  occupation  of  at  least  seventy  years.  No 
doubt  the  same  explanation  applies  in  both  cases,  viz.  the 
bringing  of  their  furs  to  the  forts  by  the  Indians  made  inland 
exploration  at  that  time  unnecessary. 

But  the  time  and  the  man  had  now  come,  and  the  vast 
prairies  of  the  North-West,  hitherto  unseen  by  the  white  man, 
were  to  become  the  battle-ground  for  a  far  greater  contest  for 
the  possession  of  the  fur  trade  than  had  yet  taken  place  either 
in  Hudson  Bay  or  with  the  Dutch  and  English  in  New  York 
State. 

The  promoting  cause  for  this  forward  movement  was  again 
the  dream  of  opening  up  a  North-West  Passage.  The  hold 
this  had  upon  the  French  we  see  was  less  than  that  upon 


FRENCH  CANADIANS  EXPLORE  INTERIOR     81 

Frobisher,  James,  Middleton,  or  Dobbs  among  the  English. 
Speaking  of  the  French  interest  in  the  scheme,  Pierre  Margry, 
keeper  of  the  French  Archives  in  Paris,  says  :  "  The  prospect 
of  discovering  by  the  interior  a  passage  to  the  Grand  Ocean, 
and  by  that  to  China,  which  was  proposed  by  our  officers 
under  Henry  IV.,  Louis  XIII.,  and  Louis  XIV.,  had  been 
taken  up  with  renewed  ardour  during  the  Eegency.  Memorial 
upon  memorial  had  been  presented  to  the  Conseil  de  Marine 
respecting  the  advisability  and  the  advantage  of  making  this 
discovery.  Indeed,  the  Pere  de  Charlevoix  was  sent  to  Amer- 
ica, and  made  his  great  journey  from  the  north  to  the  south 
of  New  France  for  the  purpose  of  reliably  informing  the  Council 
as  to  the  most  suitable  route  to  pursue  in  order  to  reach  the 
Western  Sea.  But  the  ardour  which  during  the  life  of  Philip 
of  Orleans  animated  the  Government  regarding  the  exploration 
of  the  West  became  feeble,  and  at  length  threatened  to  be 
totally  extinguished,  without  any  benefit  being  derived  from 
the  posts  which  they  had  already  established  in  the  country  of 
the  Sioux  and  at  Kaministiquia." 

' '  The  Regent,  in  choosing  between  the  two  plans  that  Father 
Charlevoix  presented  to  him  at  the  close  of  his  journey  for  the 
attainment  of  a  knowledge  of  the  Western  Sea,  through  an 
unfortunate  prudence,  rejected  the  suggestion,  which,  it  is  true, 
was  the  most  expensive  and  uncertain,  viz.  an  expedition 
up  the  Missouri  to  its  source  and  beyond,  and  decided  to 
establish  a  post  among  the  Sioux.  The  post  of  the  Sioux  was 
consequently  established  in  1727.  Father  Gonor,  a  Jesuit 
missionary  who  had  gone  upon  the  expedition,  we  are  told, 
was,  however,  obliged  to  return  without  having  been  able  to 
discover  anything  that  would  satisfy  the  expectations  of  the 
Court  about  the  Western  Sea." 

At  this  time  Michilimackinac  was  the  depot  of  the  West.  It 
stood  in  the  entrance  of  Lake  Michigan — the  Gitche  Gumee  of 
the  Indian  tribes,  near  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Mary  River,  the 
outlet  of  Lake  Superior  ;  it  was  at  the  head  of  Lake  Huron 
and  Georgian  Bay  alike.  Many  years  afterwards  it  was  called 
the  "  Key  of  the  North- West  "  and  the  "  Key  of  the  Upper 
Lakes."  A  round  island  lying  a  little  above  the  lake,  it 
appealed  to  the  Indian  imagination,  and,  as  its  name  implies , 
G 


82  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

was  likened  by  them  to  the  turtle.  To  it  from  every  side 
expeditions  gathered,  and  it  became  the  great  rendezvous. 

At  Michilimackinac,  just  after  the  arrival  of  Father  Gonor, 
there  came  from  the  region  of  Lake  Superior  a  man  whose 
name  was  to  become  illustrious  as  an  explorer,  Pierre  Gaultier 
de  Varennes,  Sieur  de  la  Verendrye.  We  have  come  to  know 
him  simply  by  the  single  name  of  Verendrye. 

This  great  explorer  was  born  in  Three  Rivers,  the  son  of  an 
old  officer  of  the  French  army.  The  young  cadet  found  very 
little  to  do  in  the  New  World,  and  made  his  way  home  to 
France.  He  served  as  a  French  officer  in  the  War  of  the 
Spanish  Succession,  and  was  severely  wounded  in  the  battle  of 
Malplaquet.  On  his  recovery,  he  did  not  receive  the  recogni- 
tion that  he  desired,  and  so  went  to  the  western  wilds  of  Canada 
and  took  up  the  life  of  a  "  coureur  de  bois." 

Verendrye,  in  pursuing  the  fur  trade,  had  followed  the  some- 
what deserted  course  which  Radisson  and  Groseilliers  had  long 
before  taken,  and  which  a  decade  before  this  La  Noue  had,  as 
we  have  seen,  selected.  The  fort  on  Lake  Nepigon  was  still 
the  rendezvous  of  the  savages  from  the  interior,  who  were 
willing  to  be  turned  aside  from  visiting  the  English  on  Hudson 
Bay.  From  the  Indians  who  assembled  around  his  fort  on 
Lake  Nepigon,  in  1728,  Verendrye  heard  of  the  vast  interior, 
and  had  some  hopes  of  reaching  the  goal  of  those  who  dreamt 
of  a  Western  Sea. 

An  experienced  Indian  leader  named  Ochagach  undertook  to 
map  out  on  birch  bark  the  route  by  which  the  lakes  of  the 
interior  could  be  reached,  and  the  savage  descanted  with 
rapture  upon  the  furs  to  be  obtained  if  the  journey  could  be 
made.  Verendrye,  filled  with  the  thought  of  western  dis- 
covery, went  to  Quebec,  and  discussed  his  purpose  with  the 
Governor  there.  He  pointed  out  the  route  by  way  of  the 
river  of  the  Assiniboels,  and  then  the  rivers  by  which  Lake 
Ouinipegon  might  be  reached.  His  estimate  was  that  the 
Western  Sea  might  be  gained  by  an  inland  journey  from 
Lake  Superior  of  500  leagues. 

Governor  Beauharnois  considered  the  map  submitted  and  the 
opinions  of  Verendrye  with  his  military  engineer,  Chaussegros 
De  Lery  ;  and  their  conclusions  were  favourable  to  Verendrye's 


MLJ 


(11'iMKDEY    DE    MAISONNETJVE. 

A  daring   Pioneer  of  New  France. 

(Front  liis  xt'ifnc  in  Montreal.) 


[Paye  82. 


FRENCH  CANADIANS  EXPLORE  INTERIOR     83 

deductions.  Verendrye  had  the  manner  and  character  which 
inspired  belief  in  his  honesty  and  competence.  He  was  also 
helped  in  his  dealings  with  the  Governor  at  Quebec  by  the 
representations  of  Father  Gonor,  whom  we  have  seen  had 
returned  from  the  fort  established  among  the  Sioux,  convinced 
that  the  other  route  was  impracticable. 

Father  Gonor  entirely  sympathized  with  Verendrye  in  the 
belief  that  the  only  hope  lay  in  passing  through  the  country  of 
the  Christinos  and  Assiniboels  of  the  North.  The  Governor 
granted  the  explorer  the  privilege  of  the  entire  profit  of  the  fur 
trade,  but  was  unable  to  give  any  assistance  in  money. 
Verendrye  now  obtained  the  aid  of  a  number  of  merchants  in 
Montreal  in  providing  goods  and  equipment  for  the  journey, 
and  in  high  glee  journeyed  westward,  calling  at  Michili- 
mackinac  to  take  with  him  the  Jesuit  Father  Messager,  to  be 
the  companion  of  his  voyage.  Near  the  end  of  August,  1731, 
the  expedition  was  at  Pigeon  River,  long  known  as  Grand 
Portage,  a  point  more  than  forty  miles  south-westward  of  the 
mouth  of  the  Kaministiquia. 

This  was  a  notable  event  in  history  when  Verendrye  and  his 
crew  stood  ready  to  face  the  hardships  of  a  Journey  to  the 
interior.  No  doubt  the  way  was  hard  and  long,  and  the  men 
were  sulky  and  discouraged,  but  the  heroism  of  their  com- 
mander shone  forth  as  he  saw  into  the  future  and  led  the  way 
to  a  vast  and  important  region. 

Often  since  that  time  have  important  expeditions  going  to 
the  North -West  been  seen  as  they  swept  by  the  towering 
heights  of  Thunder  Cape,  and,  passing  onward,  entered  the 
uninviting  mouth  of  Kaministiquia. 

Eighty-five  years  afterward,  Lord  Selkirk  and  his  band  of  one 
hundred  De  Meuron  soldiers  appeared  here  in  canoes  and 
penetrated  to  Red  River  to  regain  the  lost  Fort  Douglas. 

One  hundred  and  twenty-six  years  after  Verendrye,  accord- 
ing to  an  account  given  by  an  eye-witness — an  old  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  officer — a  Canadian  steamer  laden  high  above 
the  decks  appeared  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kaministiquia, 
bearing  the  Dawson  and  Hind  expedition,  to  explore  the  plains 
of  Assiniboia  and  pave  the  way  for  their  admission  to  Canada. 

One  hundred  and  thirty-nine  years  after  Verendrye,  Sir 


84  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Garnet  Wolseley,  with  his  British  regulars  and  Canadian 
volunteers,  swept  through  Thunder  Bay  on  their  way  to  put 
down  the  Red  River  rebellion. 

And  now  one  hundred  and  sixty -nine  years  after  Verendrye, 
the  splendid  steamers  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Com- 
pany thrice  a  week  in  summer  carry  their  living  cargo  into  the 
mouth  of  the  Kaministiquia  to  be  transported  by  rail  to  the 
fast  filling  prairies  of  the  West. 

Yes  !  it  was  a  great  event  when  Verendrye  and  his  little  band 
of  unwilling  voyageurs  started  inland  from  the  shore  of  Lake 
Superior. 

Verendrye,  his  valiant  nephew,  De  La  Jemeraye,  and  his 
two  sons,  were  the  leaders  of  the  expedition.  Grand  Portage 
avoids  by  a  nine  mile  portage  the  falls  and  rapids  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Pigeon  River,  and  northward  from  this  point  the  party 
went,  and  after  many  hardships  reached  Rainy  Lake  in  the 
first  season,  1731.  Here,  at  the  head  of  Rainy  River,  just 
where  it  leaves  the  Lake,  they  built  their  first  fort,  St.  Pierre. 
The  writer  has  examined  the  site  of  this  fort,  just  three  miles 
above  the  falls  of  Rainy  River,  and  seen  the  mounds  and 
excavations  still  remaining.  This  seems  to  have  been  their 
furthest  point  reached  in  the  first  season,  and  they  returned  to 
winter  at  Kaministiquia.  In  the  next  year  the  expedition 
started  inland,  and  in  the  month  of  June  reached  their  Fort 
St.  Pierre,  descended  the  Rainy  River,  and  with  exultation  saw 
the  expanse  of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods. 

The  earliest  name  we  find  this  lake  known  by  is  that  given 
by  Verendrye.  He  says  it  was  called  Lake  Minitie  (Cree, 
Ministik)  or  Des  Bois.  (1)  The  former  of  these  names,  Minitie, 
seems  to  be  Ojibway,  and  to  mean  Lake  of  the  Islands, 
probably  referring  to  the  large  number  of  islands  to  be  found 
in  the  northern  half  of  the  Lake.  The  other  name  (2),  Lac  des 
Bois,  or  Lake  of  the  Woods,  would  appear  to  have  been  a  mis- 
translation of  the  Indian  (Ojibway)  name  by  which  the  Lake 
was  known.  The  name  (3)  was  "  Pikwedina  Sagaigan," 
meaning  "  the  inland  lake  of  the  sand  hills/'  referring  to  the 
skirting  range  of  sand  hills  running  for  some  thirteen  miles 
along  the  southern  shore  of  the  Lake  to  the  east  of  the  mouth 
of  Rainy  River,  its  chief  tributary. 


FRENCH  CANADIANS  EXPLORE  INTERIOR     85 

Another  name  found  on  a  map  prepared  by  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  in  1748  is  (4)  Lake  Nimigon,  probably  meaning 
the  "  expanse,"  referring  to  the  open  sheet  of  water  now  often 
called  "  La  Traverse."  Two  other  names,  (5)  Clearwater  Lake 
and  (6)  Whitefish  Lake,  are  clearly  the  extension  of  Clearwater 
Bay,  a  north-western  part  of  the  Lake,  and  Whitefish  Bay,  still 
given  by  the  Indians  to  the  channel  to  the  east  of  Grande 
Presqu'ile. 

On  the  south-west  side  of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  Verendrye's 
party  built  Fort^StJ^Tles,  probably  hoping  then  to  come  in 
touch  with  the  Sioux  who  visited  that  side  of  the  lake,  and 
with  whom  they  would  seek  trade.  At  this  point  the  prospect 
was  very  remote  of  reaching  the  Western  Sea.  The  expenses 
wore  great,  and  the  fur  trade  did  not  so  far  give  sufficient 
return  to  justify  a  further  march  to  the  interior.  Unassisted 
they  had  reached  in  1733  Lake  Ouinipegon  (Winnipeg),  by 
descending  the  rapid  river  from  Lake  of  the  Woods,  to  which 
they  gave  the  name  of  Maurepas. 

The  government  in  Quebec  informed  the  French  Minister, 
M.  de  Maurepas,  that  they  had  been  told  by  the  adventurous 
Jemeraye  that  if  the  French  King  would  bear  the  expense, 
they  were  now  certain  that  the  Western  Sea  could  be  reached. 
They  had  lost  in  going  to  Lake  Ouinipegon  not  less  than 
43,000  livres,  and  could  not  proceed  further  without  aid.  The 
reply  from  the  Court  of  France  was  unfavourable  ;  nothing 
more  than  the  free  privilege  of  the  fur  trade  was  granted  the 
explorers. 

In  the  following  year  Verendrye  built  a  fort  near  Lake 
Ouinipegon,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Maurepas  River  (which  we 
now  know  as  Winnipeg  River),  and  not  far  from  the  present 
Fort  Alexander.  The  fort  was  called  Fort  Maurepas,  although  • 
the  explorers  felt  that  they  had  little  for  which  to  thank  the 
French  Minister.  Still  anxious  to  push  on  further  west,  but 
prevented  by  want  of  means,  they  made  a  second  appeal  to  the 
French  Government  in  1735.  But  again  came  the  same  reply 
of  refusal.  The  explorers  spent  their  time  trading  with  the 
Indians  between  Lake  Winnipeg  and  Grand  Portage,  and 
coming  and  going,  as  they  had  occasion,  to  Lake  Superior,  and 
also  to  Michilimackinac  with  their  cargoes. 


86  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

While  at  Fort  St.  Charles,  on  the  shores  of  the  Lake  of  the 
Woods,  in  1736,  a  great  disaster  overtook  the  party.  Veren- 
drye's  eldest  son  was  very  anxious  to  return  to  Kaministiquia, 
as  was  also  the  Jesuit  priest,  Anneau,  who  was  in  company 
with  the  traders.  Verendrye  was  unwilling,  but  at  last  con- 
sented. The  party,  consisting  of  the  younger  Verendrye  and 
twenty  men,  were  ruthlessly  massacred  by  an  ambush  of  the 
Sioux  on  a  small  island  some  five  leagues  from  Fort  St.  Charles, 
still  known  as  Massacre  Island. 

A  few  days  afterwards  the  crime  was  discovered,  and 
Verendrye  had  difficulty  in  preventing  his  party  from  accepting 
the  offer  of  the  Assiniboines  and  Christinos  to  follow  the  Sioux 
and  wreak  their  vengeance  upon  them.  During  the  next  year 
Fort  Maurepas  was  still  their  farthest  outpost. 

The  ruins  of  Fort  St.  Charles  on  the  south  side  of  the 
north-west  angle  of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  were  in  1908 
discovered  by  St.  Boniface  Historical  Society  and  the  remains 
of  young  Verendrye's  party  found  buried  in  the  ruins  of  the 
chapel. 

Though  no  assistance  could  be  obtained  from  the  French 
Court  for  western  discovery,  and  although  the  difficulties 
seemed  almost  insurmountable,  Verendrye  was  unwilling  to 
give  up  the  path  open  to  him.  He  had  the  true  spirit  of  the 
explorer,  and  chafed  in  his  little  stockade  on  the  shores  of 
Lake  Winnipeg,  seeking  new  worlds  to  conquer. 

If  it  was  a  great  event  when  Verendrye,  in  1731,  left  the 
shores  of  Lake  Superior  to  go  inland,  it  was  one  of  equal 
moment  when,  penniless  and  in  debt,  he  determined  at  all 
hazards  to  leave  the  rocks  and  woods  of  Lake  Winnipeg,  and 
seek  the  broad  prairies  of  the  West.  His  decision  being  thus 
reached,  the  region  which  is  now  the  fertile  Canadian  prairies 
was  entered  upon. 

We  are  fortunate  in  having  the  original  journal  of  this 
notable  expedition  of  1738,  obtained  by  Mr.  Douglas  Brymner, 
former  Archivist  at  Ottowa.  This,  with  two  letters  of  Bien- 
ville,  were  obtained  by  Mr.  Brymner  from  a  French  family  in> 
Montreal,  and  the  identity  of  the  documents  has  been  fully 
established. 

This  journal  covers  the  time  from  the  departure  of  Verendrye 


FRENCH  CANADIANS  EXPLORE  INTERIOR     87 

from  Michilimackinac  on  July  20th,  till  say  1739,  when  he 
writes  from  the  heart  of  the  prairies.  On  September  22nd 
the  brave  Verendrye  left  Fort  Maurepas  for  the  land  unknown. 
It  took  him  but  two  days  with  his  five  men  to  cross  in  swift 
canoes  the  south-east  expanse  of  Lake  Winnipeg,  enter  the 
mouth  of  Red  River,  and  reach  the  forks  of  the  Red  and 
Assiniboine  Rivers,  where  the  city  of  Winnipeg  now  stands. 
**  It  was  thus  on  September  24th  of  that  memorable  year  that 
the  eyes  of  the  white  man  first  fell  on  the  site  of  what  is 
destined  to  be  the  great  central  city  of  Canada.  A  few  Crees 
who  expected  him  met  the  French  explorer  there,  and  he  had  a 
conference  with  two  chiefs,  who  were  in  the  habit  of  taking 
their  furs  to  the  English  on  Hudson  Bay. 

The  water  of  the  Assiniboine  River  ran  at  this  time  very  low, 
but  Verendrye  was  anxious  to  push  westward.  Delayed  by 
the  shallowness  of  the  Assiniboine,  the  explorer's  progress  was 
very  slow,  but  in  six  days  he  reached  the  portage,  then  used  to 
cross  to  Lake  Manitoba  on  the  route  to  Hudson  Bay.  On  this 
portage  now  stands  the  town  of  Portage  la  Prairie. 

The  Assiniboine  Indians  who  met  Verendrye  here  told  him 
it  would  be  useless  for  him  to  ascend  the  Assiniboine  River 
further,  as  the  water  was  so  low.  Verendrye  was  expecting  a 
reinforcement  to  join  his  party,  under  his  colleague,  M.  de  la 
Marque.  He  determined  to  remain  at  Portage  la  Prairie  and 
to  build  a  fort.  Verendrye  then  assembled  the  Indians,  gave 
them  presents  of  powder,  ball,  tobacco,  axes,  knives,  &c.,  and 
in  the  name  of  the  French  King  received  them  as  the  children 
of  the  great  monarch  across  the  sea,  and  repeated  several  times 
to  them  the  orders  of  the  King  they  were  to  obey. 

It  is  very  interesting  to  notice  the  skill  with  which  the  early 
French  explorers  dealt  with  the  Indians,  and  to  see  the  formal 
way  in  which  they  took  possession  of  the  lands  visited. 
Verendrye  states  that  the  Indians  were  greatly  impressed, 
"  many  with  tears  in  their  eyes."  He  adds  with  some  natvet6, 
"  They  thanked  me  greatly,  promising  to  do  wonders/' 

On  October  3rd,  Verendrye  decided  to  build  a  fort.  He  was 
joined  shortly  after  by  Messrs,  de  la  Marque  and  Nolant  with 
eight  men  in  two  canoes.  The  fort  was  soon  pushed  on,  and, 
with  the  help  of  the  Indians,  was  finished  by  October  15th. 


88  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

This  was  the  beginning  of  Fort  de  la  Reine.  At  this  stage  in 
his  journal  Verendrye  makes  an  important  announcement, 
bearing  on  a  subject  which  has  been  somewhat  discussed. 

Verendrye  says,  "  M.  de  la  Marque  told  me  he  had  brought 
M.  de  Lou vi ere  to  the  forks  with  two  canoes  to  build  a  fort  there 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  people  of  the  Red  River.  I 
approved  of  it  if  the  Indians  were  notified."  This  settles  the 
fact  that  there  was  a  fort  at  the  forks  of  the  Red  and  Assini- 
boine  Rivers,  and  that  it  was  built  in  1738. 

In  the  absence  of  this  information,  we  have  been  in  the 
habit  of  fixing  the  building  of  Fort  Rouge  at  this  point  from 
1735  to  1737.  There  can  now  be  no  doubt  that  October,  1738, 
is  the  correct  date.  From  French  maps,  as  has  been  pointed 
out,  Fort  Rouge  stood  at  the  mouth  of  the  Assiniboine,  on  the 
south  side  of  the  river,  and  the  portion  of  the  city  of  Winnipeg 
called  Fort  Rouge  is  properly  named. 

It  is,  of  course,  evident  that  the  forts  erected  by  these  early 
explorers  were  simply  winter  stations,  thrown  up  in  great  haste. 

Verendrye  and  his  band  of  fifty-two  persons,  Frenchmen  andi 
Indians,  set  out  overland  by  the  Mandan  road  on  October  18th, 
to  reach  the  Mandan  settlements  of  the  Missouri.  It  is  not  a 
part  of  our  work  to  describe  that  journey.  Suffice  it  to  say 
that  on  December  3rd  he  was  at  the  central  fort  of  the  Mandans, 
250  miles  from  his  fort  at  Portage  la  Prairie. 

Being  unable  to  induce  his  Assiniboine  guides  and  inter- 
preters to  remain  for  the  winter  among  the  Mandans,  Verendrye 
returned  somewhat  unwillingly  to  the  Assiniboine  River.  He 
arrived  on  February  10th  at  his  Fort  de  la  Reine,  as  he  says 
himself, ' '  greatly  fatigued  and  very  ill." 

Verendrye  in  his  journal  gives  us  an  excellent  opportunity 
of  seeing  the  thorough  devotion  of  the  man  to  his  duty.  From 
Fort  Michilimackinac  to  the  Missouri,  by  the  route  followed  by 
him,  is  not  less  than  1,200  miles,  and  this  he  accomplished,  as 
we  have  seen  with  the  necessary  delay  of  building  a  fort, 
between  July  20th  and  December  3rd — 136  days — of  this 
wonderful  year  of  1738. 

Struggling  with  difficulties,  satisfying  creditors,  hoping  for 
assistance  from  France,  but  ever  patriotic  and  single-minded, 
Verendrye  became  the  leading  spirit  in  Western  exploration. 


FRENCH  CANADIANS  EXPLORE  INTERIOR     89 

In  the  year  after  his  great  expedition  to  the  prairies,  he  was 
summoned  to  Montreal  to  resist  a  lawsuit  brought  against  him. 
The  prevailing  sin  of  French  Canada  was  jealousy.  Though 
Verendrye  had  struggled  so  bravely  to  explore  the  country, 
there  were  those  who  whispered  in  the  ear  of  the  Minister  of 
the  French  Court  that  he  was  selfish  and  unworthy.  In  his 
heart-broken  reply  to  the  charges,  he  says,  "  If  more  than 
40,000  livres  of  debt  which  I  have  on  my  shoulders  are  an 
advantage,  then  I  can  flatter  myself  that  I  am  very  rich/' 

In  1741  a  fruitless  attempt  was  made  to  reach  the  Mandans, 
but  in  the  following  year  Verendrye 's  eldest  surviving  son'and 
his  brother,  known  as  the  Chevalier,  having  with  them  only 
two  Canadians,  left  Forte  de  la  Reine,  and  made  in  this  and  the 
succeeding  year  one  of  the  most  famous  of  the  Verendrye 
discoveries.  This  lies  beyond  the  field  of  our  inquiry,  being 
the  journey  to  the  Misx.uri,  and  up  to  an  eastern  spur  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  Parkman,  in  his  ''A  Half  Century  of 
Conflict,"  has  given  a  detailed  account  of  this  remarkable 
Journey. 

Going  northward  over  the  Portage  la  Prairie,  Verendrye 's 
sons  had  discovered  what  is  now  known  as  Lake  Manitoba, 
and  had  reached  the  Saskatchewan  River.  On  the  west  side 
of  Lake  Manitoba  they  founded  Fort  Dauphin,  while  at  the 
west  end  of  the  enlargement  of  the  Saskatchewan  known  as 
Cedar  Lake,  they  built  Fort  Bourbon  and  ascended  the 
Saskatchewan  to  the  forks,  which  were  known  as  the  Poskoiac. 
Tardy  recognition  of  Verendrye's  achievements  came  from  the 
French  Court  in  the  explorer  being  promoted  to  the  position  of 
captain  in  the  Colonial  troops,  and  a  short  time  after  he  was 
given  the  Cross  of  the  Order  of  St.  Louis.  Beauharnois  and 
his  successor  Galissioniere  had  both  stood  by  Verendrye  and 
done  their  best  for  him.  Indeed,  the  explorer  was  just  about 
to  proceed  on  the  great  expedition  which  was  to  fulfil  their 
hopes  of  finding  the  Western  Sea,  when,  on  December  6th,  he 
passed  away,  his  dream  unrealized.  He  was  an  unselfish  soul, 
a  man  of  great  executive  ability,  and  one  who  dearly  loved  his 
King  and  country.  He  stands  out  in  striking  contrast  to  the 
Bigots  and  Jonquieres,  who  disgraced  the  name  of  France  in 
the  New  World. 


go  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

From  the  hands  of  these  vampires,  who  had  come  to  suck 
out  the  blood  of  New  France,  Verendrye's  sons  received  no 
consideration.  Their  claims  were  coolly  passed  by,  their 
goods  shamelessly  seized,  and  their  written  and  forcible  re- 
monstrance made  no  impression.  Legardeur  de  St.  Pierre, 
more  to  the  mind  of  the  selfish  Bigot,  was  given  their  place 
and  property,  and  in  1751  a  small  fort  was  built  on  the  upper 
waters  of  the  Saskatchewan,  near  the  Rocky  Mountains,  near 
where  the  town  of  Calgary  now  stands.  This  was  called  in 
honour  of  the  Governor,  Fort  La  Jonquiere.  A  year  afterward, 
St.  Pierre,  with  his  little  garrison  of  five  men,  disgusted  with 
the  country,  deserted  Fort  La  Reine,  which,  a  few  weeks  after, 
was  burned  to  the  ground  by  the  Assiniboines. 

The  fur  trade  was  continued  by  the  French  in  much  the  same 
bounds,  so  long  as  the  country  remained  in  the  hands  of  France. 

We  are  fortunate  in  having  an  account  of  these  affairs  given 
in  De  Bougainville's  Memoir,  two  years  before  the  capture  of 
Canada  by  Wolfe.  The  forts  built  by  Verendrye's  successors 
were  included  under  the  "  Post  of  the  Western  Sea  "  (La  Mer 
de  TOuest).  Bougainville  says,  "  The  Post  of  the  Western 
Sea  is  the  most  advanced  toward  the  north  ;  it  is  situated 
amidst  many  Indian  tribes,  with  whom  we  trade  and  who 
have  intercourse  with  the  English,  toward  Hudson  Bay.  We 
have  there  several  forts  built  of  stockades,  trusted  generally  to 
the  care  of  one  or  two  officers,  seven  or  eight  soldiers,  and 
eighty  engages  Canadiens.  We  can  push  further  the  discoveries 
we  have  made  in  that  country,  and  communicate  even  with 
California." 

This  would  have  realized  the  dream  of  Verendrye  of  reaching 
the  Western  Sea. 

"  The  Post  of  La  Mer  de  TOuest  includes  the  forts  of  St. 
Pierre,  St.  Charles,  Bourbon,  De  la  Reine,  Dauphin,  Poskoiac, 
and  Des  Prairies  (De  la  Jonquiere),  all  of  which  are  built  with 
palisades  that  can  give  protection  only  against  the  Indians." 

"  The  post  of  La  Mer  de  T  Quest  merits  special  attention  for 
two  reasons  :  the  first,  that  it  is  the  nearest  to  the  establish- 
ments of  the  English  on  Hudson  Bay,  and  from  which  their 
movements  can  be  watched  ;  the  second,  that  from  this  post, 
the  discovery  of  the  Western  Sea  may  be  accomplished  ;  but 


FRENCH  CANADIANS  EXPLORE  INTERIOR    91 

to  make  this  discovery  it  will  be  necessary  that  the  travellers 
give  up  all  view  of  personal  interest." 

Two  years  later,  French  power  in  North  America  came  to  an 
end,  and  a  generation  afterward,  the  Western  Sea  was  dis- 
covered by  British  fur  traders. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

THE   SCOTTISH   MERCHANTS   OF  MONTREAL. 

Unyielding  old  Cadot — Competition — The  enterprising  Henry — Leads 
the  way — Thomas  Curry — The  older  Finlay — Plundering  Indians 
— "  Grand  Portage  " — A  famous  mart — The  plucky  Frobishers 
— The  Sleeping  Giant  aroused — Fort  Cumberland — Churchill 
River — Indian  rising — The  deadly  smallpox — The  whites  saved. 

THE  capture  of  Canada  by  General  Wolfe  in  1759  completely 
changed  the  course  of  affairs  in  the  Western  fur  country. 
Michilimackinac  and  Sault  Ste.  Marie  had  become  considerable 
trading  centres  under  the  French  regime,  but  the  officers  and 
men  had  almost  entirely  been  withdrawn  from  the  outposts  in 
the  death  struggle  for  the  defence  of  Quebec  and  Montreal. 

The  conquest  of  Canada  was  announced  with  sorrow  by  the 
chief  captain  of  the  West,  Charles  de  Langlade,  on  his  return 
after  the  capitulation  of  Montreal.  The  French  Canadians  who 
had  taken  Indian  wives  still  clung  to  the  fur  country.  These 
French  half-breed  settlements  at  Michilimackinac  and  neigh- 
bouring posts  were  of  some  size,  but  beyond  Lake  Superior, 
except  a  straggler  here  and  there,  nothing  French  was  left 
behind.  The  forts  of  the  western  post  fell  into  decay,  and  were 
in  most  cases  burnt  by  the  Indians.  Not  an  army  officer,  not 
a  priest,  not  a  fur  trader,  remained  beyond  Kaministiquia. 

The  French  of  Michilimackinac  region  were  for  a  time 
unwilling  to  accept  British  rule.  Old  trader,  Jean  Baptiste 
Cadot,  who  had  settled  with  his  Indian  wife,  Anastasie,  at 
Sault  Ste.  Marie,  and  become  a  man  of  wide  influence,  for  years 
refused  to  yield,  and  a  French  Canadian  author  says  :  "  So  the 
French  flag  continued  to  float  over  the  fort  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie 
long  after  the  fleur-de-lis  had  quitted  for  ever  the  ramparts  of 
Quebec.  Under  the  shadow  of  the  old  colours,  so  fruitful  of 

92 


THE  SCOTTISH  MERCHANTS  OF  MONTREAL  93 

tender  memories,  he  was  able  to  believe  himself  still  under  the 
protection  of  the  mother-country/'  However,  Cadot  ended  by 
accepting  the  situation,  and  an  author  tells  us  that  like  Cadot, 
"  were  the  La  Cornes,  the  Langlades,  the  Beaujeus,  the  Babys, 
and  many  others  who,  after  fighting  like  lions  against  England, 
were  counted  a  little  later  among  the  number  of  her  most 
gallant  defenders."  For  several  years,  however,  the  fur  trade 
was  not  carried  on. 

The  change  of  flag  in  Canada  brought  a  number  of  enter- 
prising spirits  as  settlers  to  Quebec  and  Montreal.  The 
Highland  regiments  under  Generals  Amherst  and  Wolfe  had 
seen  Montreal  and  Quebec.  A  number  of  the  military  became 
settlers.  The  suppression  of  the  Jacobite  rebellion  in  Scotland 
in  1745  had  led  to  the  dispersion  of  many  young  men  of  family 
beyond  the  seas.  Some  of  these  drifted  to  Montreal.  Many  of 
the  Scottish  settlements  of  the  United  States  had  remained 
loyal,  so  that  after  the  American  Revolution  parties  of  these 
loyalists  came  to  Montreal.  Thus  in  a  way  hard  to  explain 
satisfactorily,  the  English-speaking  merchants  who  came  to 
Canada  were  largely  Scottish.  In  a  Government  report  found 
in  the  Haldimand  papers  in  1784,  it  is  stated  that "  The  greater 
part  of  the  inhabitants  of  Montreal  (no  doubt  meaning  English- 
speaking  inhabitants)  are  Presbyterians  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland."  It  was  these  Scottish  merchants  of  Montreal  who 
revived  the  fur  trade  to  the  interior. 

Washington  Irving,  speaking  of  these  merchants,  says, 
' '  Most  of  the  clerks  were  young  men  of  good  families  from  the 
Highlands  of  Scotland,  characterized  by  the  perseverance, 
thrift,  and  fidelity  of  their  country/'  He  refers  to  their  feasts 
"  making  the  rafters  resound  with  bursts  of  loyalty  and  old 
Scottish  songs." 

The  late  Archbishop  Tache,  a  French  Canadian  long  known 
in  the  North- West,  speaking  of  this  period  says,  "  Companies 
called  English,  but  generally  composed  of  Scotchmen,  were 
found  in  Canada  to  continue  to  make  the  most  of  the  rich  furs 
of  the  forests  of  the  North.  Necessity  obliged  them  at  first  to 
accept  the  co-operation  of  the  French  Canadians,  who  main- 
tained their  influence  by  the  share  they  took  in  the  working  of 
these  companies.  .  .  .  This  circumstance  explains  how, 


94  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

after  the  Scotch,  the  French  Canadian  element  is  the  most 
important." 

The  first  among  these  Scottish  merchants  to  hie  away  from  *-• 
Montreal  to  the  far  West  was  Alexander  Henry,  whose  ' '  Trav- 
els and  Adventures  in  Canada  and  the  Indian  Territories 
between  the  years  1760  and  1766  "  have  the  charm  of  narrative 
of  an  Irving  or  a  Parkman.  He  knew  nothing  of  the  fur  trade, 
but  he  took  with  him  an  experienced  French  Canadian,  named 
Campion.  He  appeared  at  Michilimackinac  two  years  after 
the  conquest  by  Wolfe,  and  in  the  following  year  visited  Sault 
Ste.  Marie  with  its  stockaded  fort,  and  formed  a  friendship  with 
trader  Cadot.  In  the  following  year,  Henry  was  a  witness  of 
the  massacre  at  Michilimackinac,  so  graphically  described  by 
Parkman  in  his  "  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac."  Henry's  account  of 
his  own  escape  is  a  thrilling  tale. 

In  1765  Henry  obtained  from  the  Commandant  at  Michili- 
mackinac licence  of  the  exclusive  trade  of  Lake  Superior.  He 
purchased  the  freight  of  four  canoes,  which  he  took  at  the 
price  of  10,000  good,  merchantable  beavers.  With  his  crew  of 
twelve  men,  and  supplies  of  fifty  bushels  of  prepared  Indian 
corn,  he  reached  a  band  of  Indians  on  the  Lake  who  were  in 
poverty,  but  who  took  his  supplies  on  trust,  and  went  off  to 
hunt  beaver.  In  due  time  the  Indians  returned,  and  paid  up 
promptly  and  fully  the  loans  made  to  them.  By  1768  he  had  «- 
succeeded  in  opening  up  the  desired  route  of  French  traders, 
going  from  Michilimackinac  to  Kaministiquia  on  Lake  Superior 
and  returning.  His  later  journeys  we  may  notice  afterwards. 

Of  the  other  merchants  who  followed  Henry  in  reviving  the 
old  route,  the  first  to  make  a  notable  adventure  was  the  Scotch- 
man Thomas  Curry.  Procuring  the  requisite  band  of  voya- 
geurs  and  interpreters,  in  1766  he  pushed  through  with  four 
canoes,  along  Verendrye's  route,  even  to  the  site  of  the  old 
French  Fort  Bourbon,  on  the  west  of  Cedar  Lake,  on  the  lower 
Saskatchewan  River.  Curry  had  in  his  movement  some- 
thing of  the  spirit  of  Verendrye,  and  his  season's  trip  was  so 
successful  that,  according  to  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie,  his  fine 
furs  gave  so  handsome  a  return  that  "  he  was  satisfied  never 
again  to  return  to  the  Indian  country." 

Another  valorous  Scotchman,  James  Finlay,  of  Montreal, 


THE  SCOTTISH  MERCHANTS  OF  MONTREAL  95 

took  up  the  paddle  that  Curry  had  laid  down,  and  in  1768,  with 
a  force  equal  to  that  of  Curry,  passed  into  the  interior  and 
ascended  the  Saskatchewan  to  Nipawi,  the  farthest  point  which 
Verendrye  had  reached.  He  was  rewarded  with  a  generous 
return  for  his  venture. 

But  wliile  these  journeys  had  been  successful,  it  would  seem 
that  the  turbulent  state  of  the  Indian  tribes  had  made  other 
expeditions  disastrous.  In  a  memorial  sent  by  the  fur  traders 
a  few  years  later  to  the  Canadian  Government,  it  is  stated  that 
in  a  venture  made  from  Michilimackinac  in  1765  the  Indians  of 
Rainy  Lake  had  plundered  the  traders  of  their  goods,  that  in 
the  next  year  a  similar  revolt  followed,  that  in  the  following 
year  the  traders  were  compelled  to  leave  a  certain  portion 
of  their  goods  at  Rainy  Lake  to  be  allowed  to  go  on  to  Lake 
Ouinipique.  It  is  stated  that  the  brothers,  Benjamin  and 
James  Frobisher,  of  Montreal,  who  became  so  celebrated  as 
fur  traders,  began  a  post  ten  years  after  the  conquest.  These 
two  merchants  were  .Englishmen./  They  speedily  took  the  lead 
in  pushing  forward  far  into  the  interior,  and  were  the  most 
practical  of  the  fur  traders  in  making  alliances  and  in  dealing 
successfully  with  the  Indians.  In  their  first  expedition  they 
had  the  same  experience  in  their  goods  being  seized  by  the 
thievish  Indians  of  Rainy  Lake  ;  but  before  they  could  send 
back  word  the  goods  for  the  next  venture  had  reached  Grand 
Portage  on  Lake  Superior,  and  they  were  compelled  to  try  the 
route  to  the  West  again.  On  this  occasion  they  managed  to 
defy  the  pillaging  bands,  and  reached  Fort  Bourbon  on  the 
Saskatchewan.  They  now  discovered  that  co-operation  and  a 
considerable  show  of  force  was  the  only  method  of  carrying  on 
a  safe  trade  among  the  various  tribes.  It  was  fortunate  for  the 
Montreal  traders  that  such  courageous  leaders  as  the  Frobishers 
had  undertaken  the  trade. 

The  trade  to  the  North-West  thus  received  a  marvellous 
development  at  the  hands  of  the  Montreal  merchants.  Nepigon 
and  the  Kaministiquia,  which  had  been  such  important 
points  in  the  French  regime,  had  been  quite  forgotten,  and 
Grand  Portage  was  now  the  place  of  greatest  interest,  and  so 
continued  to  the  end  of  the  century. 

It  is  with  peculiar  interest  a  visitor  to-day  makes  his  way  to 


96  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Grand  Portage.  The  writer,  after  a  difficult  night  voyage  over 
the  stormy  waters  of  Lake  Superior,  rowed  by  the  keeper  of  a 
neighbouring  lighthouse,  made  a  visit  a  few  years  ago  to  this 
spot.  Grand  Portage  ends  on  a  bay  of  Lake  Superior.  It  is 
partially  sheltered  by  a  rocky  island  which  has  the  appearance 
of  a  robber's  keep,  but  has  one  inhabitant,  the  only  white  man 
of  the  region,  a  French  Canadian  of  very  fair  means.  On 
the  bay  is  to-day  an  Indian  village,  chiefly  celebrated  for  its 
multitude  of  dogs.  A  few  traces,  of  the  former  greatness  of  the 
place  maybe  seen  in  the  timbers  down  in  the  water  of  the  former 
wharves,  which  were  extensive.  Few  traces  of  forts  are  now, 
a  century  after  their  desertion  by  the  fur  traders,  to  be  seen. 

The  portage,  consisting  of  a  road  fairly  made  for  the  nine  or 
ten  miles  necessary  to  avoid  the  falls  on  Pigeon  River,  can  still 
be  followed.  No  horse  or  ox  is  now  to  be  found  in  the  whole 
district,  where  at  one  time  the  traders  used  this  means  of 
lightening  the  burden  of  packing  over  the  portage.  The  soli- 
tary road,  as  the  traveller  walks  along  it,  with  weeds  and 
grasses  grown  up,  brings  to  one  a  melancholy  feeling.  The 
bustle  of  voyageur  and  trader  and  Indian  is  no  more  ;  and  the 
reflection  made  by  Irving  comes  back, ' '  The  lords  of  the  lakes 
and  forests  have  passed  away." 

And  yet  Grand  Portage  was  at  the  time  of  which  we  are 
writing  a  place  of  vast  importance.  Here  there  were  employed 
as  early  as  1783,  by  the  several  merchants  from  Montreal,  500 
men.  One  half  of  these  came  from  Montreal  to  Grand  Portage 
in  canoes  of  four  tons  burden,  each  managed  by  from  eight  to 
ten  men.  As  these  were  regarded  as  having  the  least  romantic 
portion  of  the  route,  meeting  with  no  Indians,  and  living  on 
cured  rations,  they  were  called  the  "  mangeurs  de  lard,"  or 
pork  eaters.  The  other  half  of  the  force  journeyed  inland 
from  Grand  Portage  in  canoes,  each  carrying  about  a  ton  and 
a  half.  Living  on  game  and  the  dried  meat  of  the  buffalo, 
known  as  pemmican,  these  were  a  more  independent  and 
daring  body.  They  were  called  the  "  coureurs  de  bois." 

For  fifteen  days  after  August  15th  these  wood-runners 
portaged  over  the  nine  or  ten  miles  their  burdens.  Men  carry- 
ing 150  Ibs.  each  way  have  been  known  to  make  the  portage 
and  return  in  six  hours.  When  the  canoes  were  loaded  at  the 


THE  SCOTTISH  MERCHANTS  OF  MONTREAL  97 

west  end  of  the  portage  with  two -thirds  goods  and  one-third 
provisions,  then  the  hurry  of  the  season  came,  and  supplies  for 
Lake  Winnipeg,  the  Saskatchewan,  and  far  distant  Athabasca 
were  hastened  on  apace.  The  difficulties  of  the  route  were  at 
many  a  decharge,  where  only  the  goods  needed  to  be  removed 
and  the  canoes  taken  over  the  rapids,  or  at  the  portage, 
where  both  canoes  and  load  were  carried  past  dangerous  falls 
and  fierce  rapids.  The  dash,  energy,  and  skill  that  character- 
ized these  mixed  companies  of  Scottish  traders,  French  voy- 
ageurs,  half-breed  and  Indian  engages,  have  been  well  spoken  of 
by  all  observers,  and  appeal  strongly  to  the  lovers  of  the 
picturesque  and  heroic. 

A  quarter  of  a  century  after  the  conquest  we  have  a  note  of 
alarm  at  the  new  competition  that  the  Company  from  Hudson 
Bay  had  at  last  undertaken.  In  the  Memorial  before  us  it  is 
stated  that  disturbance  of  trade  is  made  by  ' '  New  Ad- 
venturers." It  is  with  a  smile  we  read  of  the  daring  and 
strong-handed  traders  of  Montreal  saying,  "  Those  adven- 
turers (evidently  H.  B.  Co.),  consulting  their  own  interests 
only,  without  the  least  regard  to  the  management  of  the 
natives  or  the  general  welfare  of  the  trade,  soon  occasioned 
such  disorders,  &c.  .  .  .  Since  that  time  business  is  carried 
on  with  great  disadvantages/' 

This  reference,  so  prosaically  introduced,  is  really  one  of 
enormous  moment  in  our  story.  The  Frobishers,  with  their 
keen  business  instincts  and  daring  plans,  saw  that  the  real 
stroke  which  would  lead  them  on  to  fortune  was  to  divert  the 
stream  of  trade  then  going  to  Hudson  Bay  southward  to  Lake 
Superior.  Accordingly,  with  a  further  aggressive  movement  in 
view,  Joseph  Frobisher  established  a  post  on  Sturgeon  Lake, 
an  enlargement  of  the  Saskatchewan,  near  the  point  known  by 
the  early  French  as  Poskoiac. 

A  glance  at  the  map  will  show  how  well  chosen  Sturgeon 
Lake  Fort  was.  Northward  from  it  a  watercourse  could  be 
readily  followed,  by  which  the  main  line  of  water  communica- 
tion from  the  great  northern  districts  to  Hudson  Bay  could  be 
reached  and  the  Northern  Indians  be  interrupted  in  their 
annual  pilgrimage  to  the  Bay.  But,  as  we  shall  afterward  see, 
the  sleeping  giant  of  the  Bay  had  been  awakened  and  was 
H 


98  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

about  to  stretch  forth  his  arms  to  grasp  the  trade  of  the  interior 
with  a  new  vigour.  Two  years  after  Frobisher  had  thrown 
down  the  pledge  of  battle,  it  was  taken  up  by  the  arrival  of 
Samuel  Hearne,  an  officer  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and 
by  his  founding  Fort  Cumberland  on  Sturgeon  Lake,  about  two 
miles  below  Frobisher 's  Fort.  Hearne  returned  to  the  Bay, 
leaving  his  new  fort  garrisoned  by  a  number  of  Orkney  men 
under  an  English  officer. 

During  the  same  year  an  explorer,  on  behalf  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  visited  Red  River,  but  no  fort  was  built  there 
for  some  time  afterward.  The  building  of  Fort  Cumberland 
led  to  a  consolidation  on  the  part  of  the  Montreal  merchants. 
In  the  next  year  after  its  building,  Alexander  Henry,  the  bro- 
thers Frobisher,  trader  Cadot,  and  a  daring  trader  named  Pond, 
gathered  at  Sturgeon  Lake,  and  laid  their  plans  for  striking  a 
blow  in  retaliation,  as  they  regarded  it,  for  the  disturbance  of 
trade  made  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  penetrating  to 
the  interior  from  the  Bay. 

Cadot,  with  four  canoes,  went  west  to  the  Saskatchewan  ; 
Pond,  with  two,  to  the  country  on  Lake  Dauphin  ;  and  Henry 
and  the  Frobisher  brothers,  with  their  ten  canoes  and  upwards 
of  forty  men,  hastened  northward  to  carry  out  the  project  of 
turning  anew  the  Northern  Indians  from  their  usual  visit  to  th  3 
Bay.  On  the  way  to  the  Churchill  River  they  built  a  fort  on 
Beaver  Lake.  In  the  following  year,  a  strong  party  went  north 
to  Churchill  or  English  River,  as  Joseph  Frobisher  now  called 
it.  When  it  was  reached  they  turned  westward  and  ascended 
the  Churchill,  returning  at  Serpent's  Rapid,  but  sending 
Thomas  Frobisher  with  goods  on  to  Lake  Athabasca. 

From  the  energy  displayed,  and  the  skill  shown  in  seizing 
the  main  points  in  the  country,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Montreal 
merchants  were  not  lacking  in  ability  to  plan  and  decision  to 
execute.  The  two  great  forces  have  now  met,  and  for  fifty 
years  a  battle  royal  will  be  fought  for  the  rivers,  rocks,  and 
plains  of  the  North  Country.  At  present  it  is  our  duty  to 
follow  somewhat  further  the  merchants  of  Montreal  in  their 
agencies  in  the  North-West. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  competition  between  the  two 
companies  produced  disorder  and  confusion  among  the  Indian 


THE  SCOTTISH  MERCHANTS  OF  MONTREAL  99 

tribes.  The  Indian  nature  is  excitable  and  suspicious.  Rival 
traders  for  their  own  ends  played  upon  the  fears  and  cupidity 
alike  of  the  simple  children  of  the  woods  and  prairies.  They 
represented  their  opponents  in  both  cases  as  unreliable  and 
grasping,  and  party  spirit  unknown  before  showed  itself  in 
most  violent  forms.  The  feeling  against  the  whites  of  both 
parties  was  aroused  by  injustices,  in  some  cases  fancied,  in 
others  real.  The  Assiniboines,  really  the  northern  branch  of 
the  fierce  Sioux  of  the  prairies,  were  first  to  seize  the  toma- 
hawk. They  attacked  Poplar  Fort  on  the  Assiniboine.  After 
some  loss  of  life,  Bruce  and  Boyer,  who  were  in  charge  of  the 
fort,  decided  to  desert  it.  Numerous  other  attacks  were  made 
on  the  traders*  forts,  and  it  looked  as  if  the  prairies  would  be 
the  scene  of  a  general  Indian  war. 

The  only  thing  that  seems  to  have  prevented  so  dire  a 
disaster  was  the  appearance  of  what  is  ever  a  dreadful  enemy 
to  the  poor  Indian,  the  scourge  of  smallpox.  The  Assiniboines 
had  gone  on  a  war  expedition  against  the  Mandans  of  the 
Missouri  River,  and  had  carried  back  the  smallpox  infection 
which  prevailed  among  the  Mandan  lodges.  This  disease 
spread  over  the  whole  country,  and  several  bands  of  Indians 
were  completely  blotted  out.  Of  one  tribe  of  four  hundred 
lodges,  only  ten  persons  remained  ;  the  poor  survivors,  in 
seeking  succour  from  other  bands,  carried  the  disease  with 
them.  At  the  end  of  1782  there  were  only  twelve  traders  who 
had  persevered  in  their  trade  on  account  of  the  discourage- 
ments, but  the  whole  trade  was  for  two  or  three  seasons 
brought  to  an  end  by  this  disease. 

The  decimation  of  the  tribes,  the  fear  of  infection  by  the 
traders,  and  the  general  awe  cast  over  the  country  turned  the 
thoughts  of  the  natives  away  from  war,  and  as  Masson  says, 
"  the  whites  had  thus  escaped  the  danger  which  threatened 
them." 

Two  or  three  years  after  the  scourge,  the  merchants  of 
Montreal  revived  the  trade,  and,  as  we  shall  see,  made  a  com- 
bination which,  in  the  thoroughness  of  its  discipline,  the  energy 
of  its  operations,  the  courage  of  its  promoters,  and  the  scope  of 
its  trade,  has  perhaps  never  been  equalled  in  the  history  of 
trading  companies, 


CHAPTER   XII. 

DISCOVERY   OF  THE   COPPERMINE. 

Samuel  Hearne — "  The  Mungo  Park  of  Canada  " — Perouse  complains 
— The  North-West  Passage — Indian  guides — Two  failures — Third 
journey  successful — Smokes  the  calumet — Discovers  Arctic 
Ocean — Cruelty  to  the  Eskimos — Error  in  latitude — Remarkable 
Indian  woman — Capture  of  Prince  of  Wales  Fort — Criticism  by 
Umfreville. 

SUCH  an  agitation  as  that  so  skilfully  planned  and  shrewdly 
carried  on  by  Arthur  Dobbs,  Esq.,  could  not  but  affect  the 
action  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  The  most  serious 
charge  brought  against  the  Company  was  that,  while  having  a 
monopoly  of  the  trade  on  Hudson  Bay,  it  had  taken  no  steps 
to  penetrate  the  country  and  develop  its  resources.  It  is  of 
course  evident  that  the  Company  itself  could  have  no  reason 
for  refusing  to  open  up  trade  with  the  interior,  for  by  this 
means  it  would  be  expanding  its  operations  and  increasing  its 
profits.  The  real  reason  for  its  not  doing  so  seems  to  have 
been  the  inertia,  not  to  say  fear,  of  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
agents  on  the  Bay  who  failed  to  mingle  with  the  bands  of 
Indians  in  the  interior. 

Now  the  man  was  found  who  was  to  be  equal  to  the  occa- 
sion. This  was  Samuel  Hearne.  Except  occasional  reference 
to  him  in  the  minutes  of  the  Company  and  works  of  the  period, 
we  know  little  of  Samuel  Hearne.  He  was  one  of  the  class  of 
men  to  which  belonged  Norton,  Kelsey,  and  others — men  who 
had  grown  up  in  the  service  of  the  Company  on  the  Bay,  and 
had  become,  in  the  course  of  years,  accustomed  to  the  climate, 
condition  of  life,  and  haunts  of  the  Indians,  thus  being  fitted 
for  active  work  for  the  Company. 

Samuel  Hearne  became  so  celebrated  in  his  inland  expe- 

100 


DISCOVERY  OF  THE  COPPERMINE    101 

ditions,  that  the  credit  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  leaving 
the  coast  and  venturing  into  the  interior  has  always  been 
attached  to  his  name.  So  greatly,  especially  in  the  English 
mind,  have  his  explorations  bulked,  that  the  author  of  a  book 
of  travels  in  Canada  about  the  beginning  of  this  century  called 
him  the  "  Mungo  Park  of  Canada/'  In  his  "  Journey,"  we 
have  an  account  of  his  earlier  voyages  to  the  interior  in  search 
of  the  Coppermine  River.  This  book  has  a  somewhat  notable 
history. 

In  the  four-volume  work  of  La  Perouse,  the  French  navi- 
gator, it  is  stated  that  when  he  took  Prince  of  Wales  Fort 
on  the  Churchill  River  in  1782,  Hearne,  as  governor  of  the 
fort,  surrendered  it  to  him,  and  that  the  manuscript  of  his 
"  Journey  "  was  seized  by  the  French  commander.  It  was 
returned  to  Hearne  on  condition  that  it  should  be  published, 
but  the  publication  did  not  take  place  until  thirteen  years  after- 
wards. It  is  somewhat  amusing  to  read  in  Perouse's  preface 
(1791)  the  complaint  that  Hearne  had  not  kept  faith  with  him 
in  regard  to  publishing  the  journal,  and  the  hope  is  expressed 
that  this  public  statement  in  reminding  him  of  his  promise 
would  have  the  desired  effect  of  the  journal  being  published. 

Four  years  afterwards  Hearne's  "  Journey  "  appeared.  A 
reference  to  this  fine  quarto  work,  which  is  well  illustrated, 
brings  us  back  in  the  introduction  to  all  the  controversies 
embodied  in  the  work  of  Dobbs,  Ellis,  Robson,  and  the 
"  American  Traveller." 

Hearne's  orders  were  received  from  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  in  1769,  to  go  on  a  land  expedition  to  the  interior  of 
the  continent,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Churchill  as  far  as  70  deg. 
N.  lat.,  to  smoke  the  calumet  of  peace  with  the  Indians,  to 
take  accurate  astronomical  observations,  to  go  with  guides  to 
the  Athabasca  country,  and  thence  northward  to  a  river 
abounding  with  copper  ore  and  "  animals  of  the  fur  kind,"  &c. 

It  is  very  noticeable,  also,  that  his  instructions  distinctly  tell 
him  "  to  clear  up  the  point,  if  possible,  in  order  to  prevent 
further  doubt  from  arising  hereafter  respecting  a  passage  out 
of  Hudson  Bay  into  the  Western  Ocean,  as  hath  lately  been 
represented  by  the  '  American  Traveller.'  "  The  instructions 
made  it  plain  that  it  was  the  agitation  still  continuing  from  the 


102  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

days  of  Dobbs  which  led  to  the  sending  of  Hearne  to  the  north 
country. 

Hearne's  first  expedition  was  made  during  the  last  months 
of  the  year  1769.  It  is  peculiarly  instructive  in  the  fact  that 
it  failed  to  accomplish  anything,  as  it  gives  us  a  glimpse  of  the 
difficulties  which  no  doubt  so  long  prevented  the  movement 
to  the  interior.  In  the  first  place,  the  bitterly  severe  months 
of  November  and  December  were  badly  chosen  for  the  time  of 
the  expedition.  On  the  sixth  day  of  the  former  of  these 
months  Hearne  left  Prince  of  Wales  Fort,  taking  leave  of  the 
Governor,  and  being  sent  off  with  a  salute  of  seven  guns.  His 
guide  was  an  Indian  chief,  Chawchinahaw.  Hearne  ascer- 
tained very  soon,  what  others  have  found  among  the  Indians, 
that  his  guide  was  not  to  be  trusted  ;  he  "  often  painted  the 
difficulties  in  the  worst  colours  "  and  took  every  method  to 
dishearten  the  explorer.  Three  weeks  after  starting,  a  number 
of  the  Indians  deserted  Hearne. 

Shortly  after  this  mishap,  Chawchinahaw  and  his  company 
ruthlessly  deserted  the  expedition,  and  two  hundred  miles  from 
the  fort  set  out  on  another  route,  "  making  the  woods  ring 
with  their  laughter."  Meeting  other  Indians,  Hearne  pur- 
chased venison,  but  was  cheated,  while  his  Indian  guide  was 
feasted.  The  explorer  remarks  : — "  A  sufficient  proof  of  the 
singular  advantage  which  a  native  of  this  country  has  over  an 
Englishman,  when  at  such  a  distance  from  the  Company's 
factories  as  to  depend  entirely  on  them  for  subsistence." 

Hearne  arrived  at  the  fort  after  an  absence  of  thirty-seven 
days,  as  he  says,  "  to  my  own  mortification  and  the  no  small 
surprise  of  the  Governor."  Hearne  was  simply  illustrating 
what  has  been  shown  a  hundred  times  since,  in  all  foreign 
regions,  viz.,  native  peoples  are  quick  to  see  the  inexperience 
of  men  raw  to  the  country,  and  will  heartlessly  maltreat  and 
deceive  them.  However,  British  officers  and  men  in  all  parts 
of  the  world  become  at  length  accustomed  to  dealing  with 
savage  peoples,  and  after  some  experience,  none  have  ever 
equalled  British  agents  and  explorers  in  the  management  and 
direction  of  such  peoples. 

Early  in  the  following  year  Hearne  plucked  up  courage  for 
another  expedition.  On  this  occasion  he  determined  to  take  no 


DISCOVERY  OF  THE  COPPERMINE    103 

Europeans,  but  to  trust  to  Indians  alone.  On  February  23rd, 
accompanied  by  five  Indians,  Hearne  started  on  his  second 
journey.  Following  the  advice  of  the  Governor,  the  party  took 
no  Indian  women  with  them,  though  Hearne  states  that  this 
was  a  mistake,  as  they  were  ' '  needed  for  hauling  the  baggage 
as  well  as  for  dressing  skins  for  clothing,  pitching  our  tent, 
getting  firing,  &c."  During  the  first  part  of  the  journey  deer 
were  plentiful,  and  the  fish  obtained  by  cutting  holes  in  the  ice 
of  the  lakes  were  excellent. 

Hearne  spent  the  time  of  the  necessary  delays  caused  by  the 
obtaining  of  fish  and  game  in  taking  observations,  keeping  his 
journal  and  chart,  and  doing  his  share  of  trapping.  Meeting, 
as  soon  as  the  spring  opened,  bands  of  Indians  going  on 
various  errands,  the  explorer  started  overland.  He  carried 
sixty  pounds  of  burden,  consisting  of  quadrant,  books  and 
papers,  compass,  wearing  apparel,  weapons  and  presents  for 
the  natives.  The  traveller  often  made  twenty  miles  a  day 
over  the  rugged  country. 

Meeting  a  chief  of  the  Northern  Indians  going  in  July  to 
Prince  of  Wales  Fort,  Hearne  sent  by  him  for  ammunition  and 
supplies.  A  canoe  being  now  necessary,  Hearne  purchased 
this  of  the  Indians.  It  was  obtained  by  the  exchange  of  a 
single  knife,  the  full  value  of  which  did  not  exceed  a  penny. 
In  the  middle  of  this  month  the  party  saw  bands  of  musk  oxen. 
A  number  of  these  were  killed  and  their  flesh  made  into  pem- 
mican  for  future  use.  Finding  it  impossible  to  reach  the 
Coppermine  during  the  season,  Hearne  determined  to  live  with 
the  Indians  for  the  winter. 

The  explorer  was  a  good  deal  disturbed  by  having  to  give 
presents  to  Indians  who  met  him.  Some  of  them  wanted  guns, 
all  wanted  ammunition,  iron-work,  and  tobacco  ;  many  were 
solicitous  for  medicine  ;  and  others  pressed  for  different  articles 
of  clothing.  He  thought  the  Indians  very  inconsiderate  in 
their  demands. 

On  August  llth  the  explorer  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  his 
quadrant  by  its  being  blown  open  and  broken  by  the  wind. 
Shortly  after  this  disaster,  Hearne  was  plundered  by  a  number 
of  Indians  who  joined  him. 

He  determined  to  return  to  the  fort.     Suffering  from  the 


io4  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

want  of  food  and  clothing,  Hearne  was  overtaken  by  a  famous 
chief,  Matonabbee,  who  was  going  eastward  to  Prince  of  Wales 
Fort.  The  chief  had  lived  several  years  at  the  fort,  and  was  one 
who  knew  the  Coppermine.  Matonabbee  discussed  the  reasons 
of  Hearne's  failure  in  his  two  expeditions.  The  forest 
philosopher  gave  as  the  reason  of  these  failures  the  misconduct 
of  the  guides  and  the  failure  to  take  any  women  on  the  journey. 
(After  maintaining  that  women  were  made  for  labour,  and 
speaking  of  their  assistance,  said  Matonabbee,  "  women, 
though  they  do  everything,  are  maintained  at  a  trifling  ex- 
pense, for  as  they  always  stand  cook,  the  very  licking  of  their 
fingers  in  scarce  times  is  sufficient  for  their  subsistence/' 
Plainly,  the  northern  chief  had  need  of  the  ameliorating 
influence  of  modern  reformers,  fj  In  company  with  the  chief, 
Hearne  returned  to  the  fort,  reaching  it  after  an  absence  of 
eight  months  and  twenty-two  days,  having,  as  he  says,  had 
"  a  fruitless  or  at  least  an  unsuccessful  journey." 

Hearne,  though  beaten  twice,  was  determined  to  try  a  third 
time  and  win.  He  recommended  the  employment  of  Maton- 
abbee as  a  guide  of  intelligence  and  experience.  Governor 
Norton  wished  to  send  some  of  the  coast  Indians  with  Hearne, 
but  the  latter  refused  them,  and  incurred  the  ill-will  of  the 
Governor.  Hearne's  instructions  on  this  third  journey  were 
"  in  quest  of  a  North- West  Passage,  copper-mines,  or  any  other 
thing  that  may  be  serviceable  to  the  British  nation  in  general, 
or  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  particular."  The  explorer 
was  now  furnished  with  an  Elton's  quadrant. 

This  third  Journey  was  begun  on  December  7th,  1770. 
/Travelling  sometimes  for  three  or  four  days  without  food,  they 
were  annoyed,  when  supplies  were  secured,  by  the  ^hief 
Matonabbee  taking  so  ill  from  over-eating  that  he  had  to  be 
drawn  upon  a  sledge,  f  Without  more  than  the  usual  incidents 
of  Indian  travelling,  the  party  pushed  on  till  a  point  some 
19  deg.  west  of  Churchill  was  reached,  according  to  the  calcu- 
lations of  the  explorer.  It  is  to  be  noted,  however,  that 
Hearne's  observations,  measurements,  and  maps,  do  not  seem 
to  be  at  all  accurate. 

Turning  northward,  as  far  as  can  be  now  made  out,  about  the 
spot  where  the  North-West  traders  first  appeared  on  their  way 


DISCOVERY   OF    THE    COPPERMINE         105 

to  the  Churchill  River,  Hearne  went  north  to  his  destination. 
His  Indian  guides  now  formed  a  large  war  party  from  the 
resident  Indians,  to  meet  the  Eskimos  of  the  river  to  which  they 
were  going  and  to  conquer  them. 

The  explorer  announces  that  having  left  behind  "  all  the 
women,  children,  dogs,  heavy  baggage,  and  other  encum- 
brances/' on  June  1st,  1771,  they  pursued  their  journey  north- 
ward with  great  speed.  On  June  21st  the  sun  did  not  set  at 
all,  which  Hearne  took  to  be  proof  that  they  had  reached 
the  Arctic  Circle.  Next  day  they  met  the  Copper  Indians,  who 
welcomed  them  on  hearing  the  object  of  their  visit. 

Hearne,  according  to  orders,  smoked  the  calumet  of  peace 
with  the  Copper  Indians.  These  Indians  had  never  before 
seen  a  white  man.  Hearne  was  considered  a  great  curiosity. 
Pushing  on  upon  their  long  Journey,  the  explorers  reached  the 
Coppermine  River  on  July  13th.  Hearne  was  the  witness  of  a 
cruel  massacre  of  the  Eskimos  by  his  Indian  allies,  and  the 
seizure  of  their  copper  utensils  and  other  provisions,  and 
expresses  disgust  at  the  enormity  of  the  affair.  The  mouth  of 
the  river,  which  flows  into  the  Arctic  Ocean,  was  soon  reached 
on  July  18th,  and  the  tide  found  to  rise  about  fourteen  feet. 

Hearne  seems  in  the  narrative  rather  uncertain  about  the 
latitude  of  the  mouth  of  the  Coppermine  River,  but  states  that 
after  some  consultation  with  the  Indians,  he  erected  a  mark, 
and  took  possession  of  the  eoast  on  behalf  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company. 

In  Hearne's  map,  dated  July,  1771,  and  purporting  to  be  a 
plan  of  the  Coppermine,  the  mouth  of  the  river  is  about 
71  deg.  54'  N.  This  was  a  great  mistake,  as  the  mouth  of  the 
river  is  somewhere  near  68  deg.  N.  So  great  a  mistake  was 
certainly  unpardonable.  Hearne's  apology  was  that  after  the 
breaking  of  his  quadrant  on  the  second  expedition,  the  instru- 
ment which  he  used  was  an  old  Elton's  quadrant,  which  had 
been  knocking  about  the  Prince  of  Wales  Fort  for  nearly  thirty 
years. 

Having  examined  the  resources  of  the  river  and  heard  of  the 
mines  from  which  the  Copper  Indians  obtained  all  the  metal 
for  the  manufacture  of  hatchets,  chisels,  knives,  &c.,  Hearne 
started  southward  on  his  return  journey  on  July  18th.  Instead 


io6  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

of  coming  by  the  direct  route,  he  went  with  the  Indians  of  his 
party  to  the  north  side  of  Lake  Athabasca  on  December  24th. 
Having  crossed  the  lake,  as  illustrating  the  loneliness  of  the 
region,  the  party  found  a  woman  who  had  escaped  from  an 
Indian  band  which  had  taken  her  prisoner,  and  who  had  not 
seen  a  human  face  for  seven  months,  and  had  lived  by  snaring 
partridges,  rabbits,  and  squirrels.  Her  skill  in  maintaining 
herself  in  lonely  wilds  was  truly  wonderful.  She  became  the 
wife  of  one  of  the  Indians  of  Hearne's  party.  In  the  middle  of 
March,  1772,  Hearne  was  delivered  a  letter,  brought  to  him 
from  Prince  of  Wales  Fort  and  dated  in  the  preceding  June. 
Pushing  eastward,  after  a  number  of  adventures,  Hearne 
reached  Prince  of  Wales  Fort  on  June  30th,  1772,  having 
been  absent  on  his  third  voyage  eighteen  months  and 
twenty-three  days.  Hearne  rejoices  that  he  had  at  length 
put  an  end  to  the  disputes  concerning  a  North-West  Passage 
through  Hudson  Bay.  The  fact,  however,  that  during  the 
nineteenth  century  this  became  again  a  living  question  shows 
that  in  this  he  was  mistaken. 

The  perseverance  and  pluck  of  Hearne  have  impressed  all 
those  who  have  read  his  narrative.  He  was  plainly  one  of  the 
men  possessing  the  subtle  power  of  impressing  the  Indian  mind. 
His  disasters  would  have  deterred  many  men  from  following  up 
so  difficult  and  extensive  a  route.  To  him  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude.  That  debt  consists  not  in 
the  discovery  of  the  Coppermine,  but  in  the  attitude  presented 
to  the  Northern  Indians  from  the  Bay  all  the  way  to  Lake 
Athabasca.  Hearne  does  not  mention  the  Montreal  fur  traders, 
who,  in  the  very  year  of  his  return,  reached  the  Saskatchewan 
and  were  stationed  at  the  Churchill  River  down  which  he 


First  of  white  men  to  reach  Athapuscow,  now  thought  to 
have  been  Great  Slave  Lake,  Samuel  Hearne  claimed  for  his 
Company  priority  of  trade,  and  answered  the  calumnies  that 
his  Company  was  lacking  in  energy  and  enterprise.  He  took 
what  may  be  called  "  seizen ''  of  the  soil  for  the  English 
traders.  We  shall  speak  again  of  his  part  in  leading  the  move- 
ment inland  to  oppose  the  Nor '-Westers  in  the  interior.  His 
services  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  received  recognition  in 


DISCOVERY  OF  THE  COPPERMINE    107 

his  promotion,  three  years  after  his  return  home  from  his  third 
voyage,  to  the  governorship  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  Fort.  To 
Hearne  has  been  largely  given  the  credit  of  the  new  and 
adventurous  policy  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

Hearne  does  not,  however,  disappear  from  public  notice  on 
his  promotion  to  the  command  of  Prince  of  Wales  Fort.  When 
war  broke  out  a  few  years  later  between  England  and  France, 
the  latter  country,  remembering  her  old  successes  under  D'lber- 
ville  on  Hudson  Bay,  sent  a  naval  expedition  to  attack 
the  forts  on  the  Bay.  Umfreville  gives  an  account  of  the 
attack  on  Prince  of  Wales  Fort  on  August  8th  and  9th,  17/2.  fi  ° 
Admiral  de  la  Perouse  was  in  command  of  these  war  vessels, 
his  flagship  being  Le  Sceptre,  of  seventy-four  guns.  The 
garrison  was  thought  to  be  well  provided  for  a  siege,  and  La 
Perouse  evidently  expected  to  have  a  severe  contest.  How- 
ever, as  he  approached  the  fort,  there  seemed  to  be  no  prepara- 
tions made  for  defence,  and,  on  the  summons  to  surrender,  the 
gates  were  immediately  thrown  open. 

Umfreville,  who  was  in  the  garrison  and  was  taken  prisoner 
on  this  occasion,  speaks  of  the  conduct  of  the  Governor  as 
being  very  reprehensible,  but  severely  criticizes  the  Company 
for  its  neglect.  He  says  : — "  The  strength  of  the  fort  itself 
was  such  as  would  have  resisted  the  attack  of  a  more  consider- 
able force  ;  it  was  built  of  the  strongest  materials,  the  walls 
were  of  great  thickness  and  very  durable  (it  was  planned  by 
the  ingenious  Mr.  Robson,  who  went  out  in  1742  for  that  pur- 
pose), it  having  been  forty  years  in  building  and  attended  with 
great  expense  to  the  Company.  In  short,  it  was  the  opinion  of 
every  intelligent  person  that  it  might  have  made  an  obstinate 
resistance  when  attacked,  had  it  been  as  well  provided  in  other 
respects  ;  but  through  the  impolitic  conduct  of  the  Company, 
every  courageous  exertion  of  their  servants  must  have  been 
considered  as  imprudent  temerity  ;  for  this  place,  which  would 
have  required  four  hundred  men  for  its  defence,  the  Company, 
in  its  consummate  wisdom,  had  garrisoned  with  only  thirty- 
nine." 

In  this  matter,  Umfreville  very  plainly  shows  his  animus  to 
the  Company,  but  incidentally  he  exonerates  Hearne  from  the 
charge  of  cowardice,  inasmuch  as  it  would  have  been  madness 


io8  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

to  make  defence  against  so  large  a  body  of  men.  As  has  been 
before  pointed  out,  we  can  hardly  charge  with  cowardice  the 
man  who  had  shown  his  courage  and  determination  in  the  three 
toilsome  and  dangerous  journeys  spoken  of  ;  rather  would  we 
see  in  this  a  proof  of  his  wisdom  under  unfortunate  circum- 
stances. The  surrender  of  York  Factory  to  La  Perouse  twelve 
days  afterwards,  without  resistance,  was  an  event  of  an 
equally  discouraging  kind.  The  Company  suffered  great 
loss  by  the  surrender  of  these  forts,  which  had  been  un- 
molested since  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht. 


I 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

FORTS   ON   HUDSON   BAY   LEFT   BEHIND. 

Andrew  Graham's  "  Memo." — Prince  of  Wales  Fort — The  garrison — 
Trade — York  Factory — Furs — Albany — Subordinate  forts — Moose 
— Moses  Norton — Cumberland  House— ^Upper  Assiniboine — Rainy 
Lake — Brandon  House — Red  River — Conflict  of  the  Companies. 

THE  new  policy  of  the  Company  that  for  a  hundred  years  had 
carried  on  its  operations  in  Hudson  Bay  was  now  to  be 
adopted.  As  soon  as  the  plan  could  be  developed,  a  long  line 
of  posts  in  the  interior  would  serve  to  carry  on  the  chief  trade, 
and  the  forts  and  factories  on  Hudson  Bay  would  become 
depots  for  storage  and  ports  of  departure  for  the  Old  World. 

It  is  interesting  at  this  point  to  have  a  view  of  the  last  days 
of  the  old  system  which  had  grown  up  during  the  operations  of 
a  century.  We  are  fortunate  in  having  an  account  of  these 
forts  in  1771  given  by  Andrew  Graham,  for  many  years  a  factor 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  This  document  is  to  be  found 
in  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  house  in  London,  and  has 
been  hitherto  unpublished.  The  simplicity  of  description  and 
curtness  of  detail  gives  the  account  its  chief  charm. 

PRINCE  OF  WALES  FORT. — On  a  peninsula  at  the  entrance 
of  the  Churchill  River.  Most  northern  settlement  of  the 
Company.  A  stone  fort,  mounting  forty-two  cannon,  from  six 
to  twenty-four  pounders.  Opposite,  on  the  south  side  of 
the  river,  Cape  Merry  Battery,  mounting  six  twenty-four 
pounders  with  lodge-house  and  powder  magazine.  The  river 
1,006  yards  wide.  A  ship  can  anchor  six  miles  above  the  fort. 
Tides  carry  salt  water  twelve  miles  up  the  river.  No  springs 
near  ;  drink  snow  water  nine  months  of  the  year.  In  summer 
keep  three  draught  horses  to  haul  water  and  draw  stones  to 
finish  building  of  forts. 

109 


no  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Staff  : — A  chief  factor  and  officers,  with  sixty  servants  and 
tradesmen.  The  council,  with  discretionary  power,  consists  of 
chief  factor,  second  factor,  surgeon,  sloop  and  brig  masters, 
and  captain  of  Company's  ship  when  in  port.  These  answer 
and  sign  the  general  letter,  sent  yearly  to  directors.  The  others 
are  accountant,  trader,  steward,  armourer,  ship-wright,  car- 
penter, cooper,  blacksmith,  mason,  tailor,  and  labourers.  These 
must  not  trade  with  natives,  under  penalties  for  so  doing. 
Council  mess  together,  also  servants.  Called  by  bell  to  duty, 
work  from  six  to  six  in  summer  ;  eight  to  four  in  winter.  Two 
watch  in  winter,  three  in  summer.  In  emergencies,  trades- 
men must  work  at  anything.  Killing  of  partridges  the  most 
pleasant  duty. 

Company  signs  contract  with  servants  for  three  or  five 
years,  with  the  remarkable  clause  :  "  Company  may  recall 
them  home  at  an}^  time  without  satisfaction  for  the  remaining 
time.  Contract  may  be  renewed,  if  servants  or  labourers  wish, 
at  expiry  of  term.  Salary  advanced  forty  shillings,  if  men  have 
behaved  well  in  first  term.  The  land  and  sea  officers'  and 
tradesmen's  salaries  do  not  vary,  but  seamen's  are  raised  in 
time  of  war." 

A  ship  of  200  tons  burden,  bearing  provisions,  arrives  yearly 
in  August  or  early  September.  Sails  again  in  ten  days,  wind 
permitting,  with  cargo  and  those  returning.  Sailors  alone  get 
pay  when  at  home. 

The  annual  trade  sent  home  from  this  fort  is  from  ten  to 
four  thousand  made  beaver,  in  furs,  felts,  castorum,  goose 
feathers,  and  quills,  and  a  small  quantity  of  train  oil  and 
whalebone,  part  of  which  they  receive  from  the  Eskimos,  and 
the  rest  from  the  white  whale  fishery.  A  black  whale  fishery 
is  in  hand,  but  it  shows  no  progress. 

YORK  FACTORY. — On  the  north  bank  of  Hayes  River,  three 
miles  from  the  entrance.  Famous  River  Nelson,  three  miles 
north,  makes  the  land  between  an  island.  Well-built  fort  of 
wood,  log  on  log.  Four  bastions  with  sheds  between,  and  a 
breastwork  with  twelve  small  carriage  guns.  Good  class  of 
quarters,  with  double  row  of  strong  palisades.  On  the  bank's 
edge,  before  the  fort,  is  a  half -moon  battery,  of  turf  and  earth, 
with  fifteen  cannon,  nine-pounders.  Two  miles  below  the  fort, 


FORTS    ON   HUDSON   BAY   LEFT   BEHIND  in 

same  side,  is  a  battery  of  ten  twelve -pounders,  with  lodge- 
house  and  powder  magazine.  These  two  batteries  command 
the  river,  but  the  shoals  and  sand-banks  across  the  mouth 
defend  us  more.  No  ship  comes  higher  than  five  miles  below 
the  fort. 

Governed  like  Prince  of  Wales  Fort.  Complement  of  men  : 
forty-two.  The  natives  come  down  Nelson  River  to  trade.  If 
weather  calm,  they  paddle  round  the  point.  If  not,  they  carry 
their  furs  across.  This  fort  sends  home  from  7,000  to  33,000 
made  beaver  in  furs,  &c.,  and  a  small  quantity  of  white  whale 
oil. 

SEVERN  FORT.— On  the  north  bank  of  Severn  River.  Well- 
built  square  house,  with  four  bastions.  Men  :  eighteen. 
Commanded  by  a  factor  and  sloop  master.  Eight  small 
cannon  and  other  warlike  stores.  Sloop  carries  furs  in  the  fall 
to  York  Factory  and  delivers  them  to  the  ship,  with  the  books 
and  papers,  receiving  supply  of  trading  goods,  provisions,  and 
stores.  Severn  full  of  shoals  and  sand  banks.  Sloop  has 
difficulty  in  getting  in  and  out.  Has  to  wait  spring  tides  inside 
the  point.  Trade  sent  home,  5,000  to  6,600  made  beaver  in 
furs,  &c. 

ALBANY  FORT. — On  south  bank  of  Albany  River,  four  miles 
from  the  entrance.  Large  well-built  wood  fort.  Four  bastions 
with  shed  between.  Cannon  and  warlike  stores.  Men : 
thirty  ;  factor  and  officers.  River  difficult.  Ship  rides  five 
leagues  out  and  is  loaded  and  unloaded  by  large  sloop.  Trade, 
including  two  sub-houses  of  East  Main  and  Henley,  from  10,000 
to  12,000  made  beaver,  &c.  (This  fort  was  the  first  Europeans 
had  in  Hudson  Bay,  and  is  where  Hudson  traded  with  natives.) 

HENLEY  HOUSE. — One  hundred  miles  up  the  river  from 
Albany.  Eleven  men,  governed  by  master.  First  founded  to 
prevent  encroachments  of  the  French,  when  masters  of  Canada, 
and  present  to  check  the  English. 

EAST  MAIN  HOUSE. — Entrance  of  Slude  River.  Small 
square  house.  Sloop  master  and  eleven  men.  Trade  :  1000 
to  2000  made  beaver  in  furs,  &c.  Depth  of  water  just  admits 
sloop. 

MOOSE  FACTORY. — South  bank  of  Moose  River,  near 
entrance.  Well-built  wood  fort — cannon  and  warlike  stores. 


H2  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Twenty-five  men.  Factor  and  officers.  River  admits  ship 
to  good  harbour,  below  fort.  Trade,  3,000  to  4,000  made 
beavers  in  furs,  &c.  One  ship  supplies  this  fort,  along  with 
Albany  and  sub-forts. 

These  are  the  present  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  settlements 
in  the  Bay.  "  All  under  one  discipline,  and  excepting  the 
sub-houses,  each  factor  receives  a  commission  to  act  for  benefit 
of  Company,  without  being  answerable  to  any  person  or  per- 
sons in  the  Bay,  more  than  to  consult  for  good  of  Company  in 
emergencies  and  to  supply  one  another  with  trading  goods,  &c., 
if  capable,  the  receiver  giving  credit  for  the  same/* 

The  movement  to  the  interior  was  begun  from  the  Prince  of 
Wales  Fort  up  the  Churchill  River.  Next  year,  after  his  return 
from  the  discovery  of  the  Coppermine,  Samuel  Hearne  under- 
took the  aggressive  work  of  going  to  meet  the  Indians,  now 
threatened  from  the  Saskatchewan  by  the  seductive  influences 
of  the  Messrs.  Frobisher,  of  the  Montreal  fur  traders.  The 
Governor  at  Prince  of  Wales  Fort,  for  a  good  many  years,  had 
been  Moses  Norton.  He  was  really  an  Indian  born  at  the 
fort,  who  had  received  some  education  during  a  nine  years' 
residence  in  England.  Of  uncultivated  manners,  and  leading 
far  from  a  pure  life,  he  was  yet  a  man  of  considerable  force, 
with  a  power  to  command  and  the  ability  to  ingratiate  himself 
with  the  Indians.  He  was  possessed  of  undoubted  energy, 
and  no  doubt  to  his  advice  is  very  much  due  the  movement  to 
leave  the  forts  in  the  Bay  and  penetrate  to  the  interior  of  the 
country.  In  December  of  the  very  year  (1773)  in  which 
Hearne  went  on  his  trading  expedition  inland,  Norton  died. 

In  the  following  year,  as  we  have  seen,  Hearne  erected 
Cumberland  House,  only  five  hundred  yards  from  Frobisher's 
new  post  on  Sturgeon  Lake.  It  was  the  intention  of  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company  also  to  make  an  effort  to  control  the  trade 
to  the  south  of  Lake  Winnipeg.  Hastily  called  away  after 
building  Cumberland  House,  Hearne  was  compelled  to  leave  a 
colleague,  Mr.  Cookings,  in  charge  of  the  newly-erected  fort, 
and  returned  to  the  bay  to  take  charge  of  Prince  of  Wales 
Fort,  the  post  left  vacant  by  the  death  of  Governor  Norton. 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  now  regularly  embarked  in 
the  inland  trade,  undertook  to  push  their  posts  to  different 


FORTS    ON   HUDSON   BAY   LEFT   BEHIND  113 

parts  of  the  country,  especially  to  the  portion  of  the  fur  country 
in  the  direction  from  which  the  Montreal  traders  approached  it. 
The  English  traders,  as  we  learn  from  Umfreville,  who  was 
certainly  not  prejudiced  in  their  favour,  had  the  advantage  of 
a  higher  reputation  in  character  and  trade  among  the  Indians 
than  had  their  Canadian  opponents.  From  their  greater  near- 
ness to  northern  waters,  the  old  Company  could  reach  a  point 
in  the  Saskatchewan  with  their  goods  nearly  a  month  earlier  in 
the  spring  than  their  Montreal  rivals  were  able  to  do.  We  find 
that  in  1790  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  crossed  south  from 
the  northern  waters  and  erected  a  trading  post  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Swan  River,  near  Lake  Winnipegoosis.  This  they  soon 
deserted  and  built  a  fort  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Assiniboine 
River,  a  few  miles  above  the  present  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
post  of  Fort  Pelly. 

A  period  of  surprising  energy  was  now  seen  in  the  English 
Company's  affairs.  "  Carrying  the  war  into  Africa,"  they 
in  the  same  year  met  their  antagonists  in  the  heart  of  their 
own  territory,  by  building  a  trading  post  on  Rainy  Lake  and 
another  in  the  neighbouring  Red  Lake  district,  now  included 
in  North-Eastern  Minnesota.  Having  seized  the  chief  points 
southward,  the  aroused  Company,  in  the  next  year  (1791), 
pushed  north-westward  from  Cumberland  House  and  built 
an  establishment  at  He  a  la  Crosse,  well  up  toward  Lake 
Athabasca. 

Crossing  from  Lake  Winnipeg  in  early  spring  to  the  head 
waters  of  the  Assiniboine  River,  the  spring  brigade  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  quite  outdid  their  rivals,  and  in  1794 
built  the  historic  Brandon  House,  at  a  very  important  point 
on  the  Assiniboine  ^River.  This  post  was  for  upwards  of 
twenty  years  a  chief  Hudson's  Bay  Company  centre  until  it 
was  burnt.  On  the  grassy  bank  of  the  Assiniboine,  the  writer 
some  years  ago  found  the  remains  of  the  old  fort,  and  from  the 
well-preserved  character  of  the  sod,  was  able  to  make  out  the 
line  of  the  palisades,  the  exact  size  of  all  the  buildings,  and 
thus  to  obtain  the  ground  plan. 

Brandon  House  was  on  the  south  side  of  the  Assiniboine, 
about  seventeen  miles  below  the  present  city  of  Brandon, 
Its  remains  are  situated  on  the  homestead  of  Mr.  George  Mair, 
I 


H4  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

a  Canadian  settler  from  Beauharnois,  Quebec,  who  settled  here 
on  July  20th,  1879.  The  site  was  well  chosen  at  a  bend  of  the 
river,  having  the  Assiniboine  in  front  of  it  on  the  east  and 
partially  so  also  on  the  north.  The  front  of  the  palisade  faced 
to  the  east,  and  midway  in  the  wall  was  a  gate  ten  feet  wide, 
with  inside  of  it  a  look-out  tower  (guerite)  seven  feet  square. 
On  the  south  side  was  the  long  store -house.  In  the  centre  had 
stood  a  building  said  by  some  to  have  been  the  blacksmith's 
shop.  Along  the  north  wall  were  the  buildings  for  residences 
and  other  purposes.  The  remains  of  other  forts,  belonging  to 
rival  companies,  are  not  far  away,  but  of  these  we  shall  speak 
again. 

The  same  activity  continued  to  exist  in  the  following  year, 
for  in  points  so  far  apart  as  the  Upper  Saskatchewan  and 
Lake  Winnipeg  new  forts  were  built.  The  former  of  these 
was  Edmonton  House,  built  on  the  north  branch  of  the 
Saskatchewan.  The  fort  erected  on  Lake  Winnipeg  was  pro- 
bably that  at  the  mouth  of  the  Winnipeg  River,  near  where 
Fort  Alexander  now  stands. 

In  1796,  another  post  was  begun  on  the  Assiniboine  River, 
not  unlikely  near  the  old  site  of  Fort  de  la  Reine,  while  in 
the  following  year,  as  a  half-way  house  to  Edmonton  on 
the  Saskatchewan,  Carlton  House  was  erected.  The  Red 
River  proper  was  taken  possession  of  by  the  Company  in  1799. 
Alexander  Henry,  junr.,  tells  us  that  very  near  the  boundary 
line  (49  degrees  N.)  on  the  east  side  of  the  Red  River,  there 
were  in  1800  the  remains  of  a  fort. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  things,  so  far  as  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  was  concerned,  at  the  end  of  the  century. 

In  twenty-five  years  they  had  extended  their  trade  from 
Edmonton  House,  near  the  Rockies,  as  far  as  Rainy  Lake ; 
they  had  made  Cumberland  House  the  centre  of  their  opera- 
tions in  the  interior,  and  had  taken  a  strong  hold  of  the  fertile 
region  on  the  Red  and  Assiniboine  Rivers,  of  which  to-day  the 
city  of  Winnipeg  is  the  centre. 

Undoubtedly  the  severe  competition  between  the  Montreal 
merchants  and  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  greatly  diminished 
the  profits  of  both.  According  to  Umfreville,  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  business  was  conducted  much  more  economi- 


FORTS    ON   HUDSON   BAY   LEFT   BEHIND  115 

cally  than  that  of  the  merchants  of  Montreal.  The  Company 
upon  the  Bay  chiefly  employed  men  obtained  in  the  Orkney 
Islands,  who  were  a  steady,  plodding,  and  reliable  class.  The 
employes  of  the  Montreal  merchants  were  a  wild,  free,  reckless 
people,  much  addicted  to  drink,  and  consequently  less  to  be 
depended  upon. 

The  same  writer  states  that  the  competition  between  the 
two  rival  bodies  of  traders  resulted  badly  for  the  Indians.  He 
says  :  "  So  that  the  Canadians  from  Canada  and  the  Europeans 
from  Hudson  Bay  met  together,  not  at  all  to  the  ulterior 
advantage  of  the  natives,  who  by  this  means  became  de- 
generated and  debauched,  through  the  excessive  use  of 
spirituous  liquors  imported  by  these  rivals  in  commerce." 

One  thing  at  any  rate  had  been  clearly  demonstrated,  that 
the  inglorious  sleeping  by  the  side  of  the  Bay,  charged  by 
Dobbs  and  others  against  the  old  Company,  had  been  overcome, 
and  that  the  first  quarter  of  the  second  century  of  the  history 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  showed  that  the  Company's 
motto,  "  Pro  Pelle  Cutem,"  "  Skin  for  Skin,"  had  not  been 
inappropriately  chosen. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

THE  NORTH-WEST   COMPANY  FORMED. 

Hudson's  Bay  Company  aggressive — The  great  McTavish — The  Fro- 
bishers — Pond  and  Pangman  ^dissatisfied — Gregory  and  McLeod 
— Strength  of  the  North-West  Company — Vessels  .to  be  built — 
New  route  from  Lake  Superior  sought — Good-will  at  times — 
Bloody  Pond — Wider  union,  1787 — Fort  Alexandria — Mouth  of 
the  Souris — Enormous  fur  trade — Wealthy  Nor' -Westers — 
"  The  Haunted  House.'* 

THE  terrible  scourge  of  smallpox  cut  off  one-half,  some  say 
one-third  of  the  Indian  population  of  the  fur  country.  This 
was  a  severe  blow  to  the  prosperity  of  the  fur  trade,  as  the 
traders  largely  depended  on  the  Indians  as  trappers.  The 
determination  shown  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  the 
zeal  with  which  they  took  advantage  of  an  early  access  to  the 
Northern  Indians,  were  a  surprise  to  the  Montreal  traders,  and 
we  find  in  the  writings  of  the  time,  frequent  expressions  as  to 
the  loss  of  profits  produced  by  the  competition  in  the  fur  trade. 

The  leading  fur  merchants  of  Montreal  determined  on  a  com- 
bination of  their  forces.  Chief  among  the  stronger  houses 
were  the  Frobishers.  Joseph  Frobisher  had  returned  from  his 
two  years'  expedition  in  1776,  "  having  secured  what  was  in 
those  days  counted  a  competent  fortune,  "  and  was  one  of  the 
"  characters  "  of  the  commercial  capital  of  Canada. 

The  strongest  factor  in  the  combination  was  probably  Simon 
McTavish,  of  whom  a  writer  has  said  "  that  he  may  be  re- 
garded as  the  founder  of  the  famous  North-West  Company." 
McTavish,  born  in  1750,  was  a  Highlander  of  enormous  energy 
and  decision  of  character.  While  by  his  force  of  will  rousing 
opposition,  yet  he  had  excellent  business  capacity,  and  it  was 
he  who  suggested  the  cessation  of  rivalries  and  strife  among 
themselves  and  the  union  of  their  forces  by  the  Canadian  traders. 

116 


THE   NORTH-WEST   COMPANY   FORMED     117 

Accordingly  the  North- West  Company  was  formed  1783-4, 
its  stock  being  apportioned  into  sixteen  parts,  each  stockholder 
supplying  in  lieu  of  money  a  certain  proportion  of  the  commo- 
dities necessary  for  trade,  and  the  Committee  dividing  their 
profits  when  the  returns  were  made  from  the  sale  of  furs. 
The  united  firms  of  Benjamin  and  Joseph  Frobisher  and 
Simon  McTavish  administered  the  whole  affair  for  the  traders 
and  received  a  commission  as  agents. 

The  brightest  prospect  lay  before  the  new  formed  Company, 
and  they  had  their  first  gathering  at  Grand  Portage  in  the 
spring  of  1784.  But  union  did  not  satisfy  all.  A  viciously- 
disposed  and  self-confident  trader,  Peter  Pond,  had  not  been 
consulted.  Pond  was  an  American,  who,  as  we  have  seen  in 
1775,  accompanied  Henry,  Cadot,  and  Frobisher  to  the  far 
North-West.  Two  years  later  he  had  gone  to  Lake  Athabasca, 
and  forty  miles  from  the  lake  on  Deer  River,  had  built  in  1778 
the  first  fort  in  the  far-distant  region,  which  became  known  as 
the  Fur  Emporium  of  the  North-West.  Pond  had  with  much 
skill  prepared  a  great  map  of  the  country  for  presentation  to 
the  Empress  Catherine  of  Russia,  and  at  a  later  stage  gave 
much  information  to  the  American  commissioners  who  settled 
the  boundary  line  under  the  Treaty  of  Paris. 

Pond  was  dissatisfied  and  refused  to  enter  the  new  Company. 
Another  trader,  Peter  Pangman,  an  American  also,  had 
been  overlooked  in  the  new  Company,  and  he  and  Pond  now 
came  to  Montreal,  determined  to  form  a  strong  opposition  to 
the  McTavish  and  Frobisher  combination.  In  this  they  were 
successful. 

One  of  the  rising  merchants  of  Montreal  at  this  time  was 
John  Gregory,  a  young  Englishman.  He  was  united  in 
partnership  with  Alexander  Norman  McLeod,  an  ardent  High- 
lander, who  afterwards  rose  to  great  distinction  as  a  magnate 
of  the  fur  trade.  Pangman  and  Pond  appealed  to  the  self- 
interest  of  Gregory,  McLeod  &  Company,  and  so,  very 
shortly  after  his  projected  union  of  all  the  Canadian  interests, 
McTavish  saw  arise  a  rival,  not  so  large  as  his  own  .Company, 
but  in  no  way  to  be  despised. 

To  this  rival  Company  also  belonged  an  energetic,  strong- 
willed  Scotchman,  who  afterwards  became  the  celebrated  Sir 


n8  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Alexander  Mackenzie,  his  cousin  Roderick  McKenzie — a 
notable  character,  a  trader  named  Ross,  and  also  young  Finlay, 
a  son  of  the  pioneer  so  well  known  twenty  years  before  in  the 
fur  trading  and  civil  history  of  Canada.  Pond  signalized  him- 
self by  soon  after  deserting  to  the  older  Company. 

The  younger  Company  acted  with  great  vigour.  Leaving 
McLeod  behind  to  manage  the  business  in  Montreal,  the  other 
members  found  themselves  in  the  summer  at  Grand  Portage, 
where  they  established  a  post.  They  then  divided  up  the 
country  and  gave  it  to  the  partners  and  traders.  Athabasca 
was  given  to  Ross  ;  Churchill  River  to  Alexander  Mackenzie  ; 
the  Saskatchewan  to  Pangman  ;  and  the  Red  River  country  to 
the  veteran  trader  Pollock. 

The  North-West  Company  entered  with  great  energy  upon 
its  occupation  of  the  North-West  country.  We  are  able  to 
refer  to  an  unpublished  memorial  presented  by  them,  in  1784, 
to  Governor  Haldimand,  which  shows  very  well  their  hopes  and 
expectations.  They  claim  to  have  explored  and  improved  the 
route  from  Grand  Portage  to  Lake  Ouinipique,  and  they  ask 
the  governor  to  grant  them  the  exclusive  privilege  of  using 
this  route  for  ten  years. 

They  recite  the  expeditions  made  by  the  Montreal  traders 
from  their  posts  in  1765  up  to  the  time  of  their  memorial. 
They  urge  the  granting  of  favours  to  them  on  the  double  ground 
of  their  having  to  oppose  the  "new  adventurers/*  as  they  call 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  in  the  north,  and  they  claim  to 
desire  to  oppose  the  encroachments  of  the  United  States  in  the 
south.  They  state  the  value  of  the  property  of  the  Company 
in  the  North-West,  exclusive  of  houses  and  stores,  to  be 
25,303Z.  3s.  6d.  ;  the  other  ^outfits  also  sent  to  the  country 
will  not  fall  far  short  of  this  sum.  The  Company  will  have* 
at  Grand  Portage  in  the  following  July  50,OOOZ.  (original 
cost)  in  fur.  They  further  ask  the  privilege  of  constructing 
a  small  vessel  to  be  built  at  Detroit  and  to  be  taken  up  Sault 
Ste,  Marie  to  ply  on  Lake  Superior,  and  also  that  in  trans- 
porting their  supplies  on  the  King's  ships  from  Niagara  and 
Detroit  to  Michilimackinac,  they  may  have  the  precedence 
on  account  of  the  shortness  of  their  season  and  great  distance 
interior  to  be  reached. 


THE   NORTH-WEST   COMPANY   FORMED     119 

They  state  that  they  have  arranged  to  have  a  spot  selected  at 
Sault  Ste.  Marie,  whither  they  may  have  the  fort  transferred 
from  Michilimackinac,  which  place  had  been  awarded  by  the 
Treaty  of  Paris  to  the  Americans.  They  desire  another  vessel 
placed  on  the  lakes  to  carry  their  furs  to  Detroit.  This 
indicates  a  great  revival  of  the  fur  trade  and  vigorous  plans 
for  its  prosecution. 

A  most  interesting  statement  is  also  made  in  the  memorial : 
that  on  account  of  Grand  Portage  itself  having  been  by  the 
Treaty  of  Paris  left  on  the  American  side  of  the  boundary  on 
Lake  Superior,  they  had  taken  steps  to  find  a  Canadian  route 
by  which  the  trade  could  be  carried  on  from  Lake  Superior 
to  the  interior.  They  state  that  they  had  sent  off  on  an 
expedition  a  canoe,  with  provisions  only,  navigated  by  six 
Canadians,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Edward  Umfreville,  who 
had  been  eleven  years  in  the  service  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  and  who  along  with  his  colleague,  Mr.  Verrance, 
knew  the  language  of  the  Indians. 

We  learn  from  Umfreville's  book  that  "  he  succeeded  in  his 
expedition  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  merchants,"  along 
the  route  from  Lake  Nepigon  to  Winnipeg  River.  The  route 
discovered  proved  almost  impracticable  for  trade,  but  as  it  was 
many  years  before  the  terms  of  the  treaty  were  carried  into 
effect,  Grand  Portage  remained  for  the  time  the  favourite 
pathway  to  the  interior. 

The  conflict  of  the  two  Montreal  companies  almost  obscured 
that  with  the  English  traders  from  Hudson  Bay.  True,  in  some 
districts  the  competition  was  peaceful  and  honourable.  The 
nephew  of  Simon  McTavish,  William  McGillivray,  who  after- 
wards rose  to  great  prominence  as  a  trader,  was  stationed  with 
one  of  the  rival  company,  Roderick  McKenzie,  of  whom  we 
have  spoken,  on  the  English  River.  In  1786  they  had  both 
succeeded  so  well  in  trade  that,  forming  their  men  into  two 
brigades,  they  returned  together,  making  the  woods  resound 
with  the  lively  French  songs  of  the  voyageurs. 

The  attitude  of  the  traders  largely  depended,  however,  on  the 
character  of  the  men.  To  the  Athabasca  district  the  impetu- 
ous and  intractable  Pond  was  sent  by  the  older  Company,  on 
his  desertion  to  it.  Here  there  was  the  powerful  influence  of 


120  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  to  contend  against,  and  the 
old  Company  from  the  Bay  long  maintained  its  hold  on  the 
Northern  Indians.  To  make  a  flank  movement  upon  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  he  sent  Cuthbert  Grant  and  a  French 
trader  to  Slave  Lake,  on  which  they  established  Fort  Resolu- 
tion, while,  pushing  on  still  farther,  they  reached  a  point  after- 
wards known  as  Fort  Providence. 

The  third  body  to  be  represented  in  Athabasca  Lake  was  the 
small  North-West  Company  by  their  bourgeois,  John  Ross. 
Ross  was  a  peaceable  and  fair  man,  but  Pond  so  stirred  up 
strife  that  the  employes  of  the  two  Companies  were  in  a 
perpetual  quarrel.  In  one  of  these  conflicts  Ross  was  unfor- 
tunately killed.  This  added  to  the  evil  reputation  of  Pond, 
who  in  1781  had  been  charged  with  the  murder  of  a  peaceful 
trader  named  Wadin,  in  the  same  Athabasca  region. 

When  Roderick  Mckenzie  heard  at  He  a  la  Crosse  of  the 
murder,  he  hastened  to  the  meeting  of  the  traders  at  Grand 
Portage.  This  alarming  event  so  affected  the  traders  that  the 
two  Companies  agreed  to  unite.  The  union  was  effected  in 
1787,  and  the  business  at  headquarters  in  Montreal  was  now 
managed  by  the  three  houses  of  McTavish,  Frobisher,  and 
Gregory.  Alexander  Mackenzie  was  despatched  to  Athabasca 
to  take  the  place  of  the  unfortunate  trader  Ross,  and  so  became 
acquainted  with  the  region  which  was  to  be  the  scene  of  his 
triumphs  in  discovery. 

The  union  of  the  North-West  fur  companies  led  to  exten- 
sion in  some  directions.  The  Assiniboine  Valley,  in  one  of  the 
most  fertile  parts  of  the  country,  was  more  fully  occupied.  As 
in  the  case  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  the  occupation  of 
this  valley  took  place  by  first  coming  to  Lake  Winnipeg  and 
ascending  the  Swan  River  (always  a  fur  trader's  paradise), 
until,  by  a  short  portage,  the  Upper  Assiniboine  was  reached. 

The  oldest  fort  in  this  valley  belonging  to  the  Nor '-Westers 
seems  to  have  been  built  by  a  trader,  Robert  Grant,  a  year  or 
two  after  1780.  It  is  declared  by  trader  John  McDonnell  to 
have  been  two  short  days'  march  from  the  junction  of  the 
Qu'Appelle  and  Assiniboine. 

Well  up  the  Assiniboine,  and  not  far  from  the  source  of  the 
Swan  River,  stood  Fort  Alexandria, ' '  surrounded  by  groves  of 


THE   NORTH-WEST   COMPANY   FORMED     121 


birch,  poplar,  and  aspen,"  and  said  to  have  been  named  after 
Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie.  It  was  256  feet  in  length  by  196 
feet  in  breadth  ;  the  "  houses,  stores,  &c.,  being  well  built, 
plastered  on  the  inside  and  outside,  and  washed  over  with  a 
white  earth,  which  answers  nearly  as  well  as  lime  for  white- 
washing." 

Connected  with  this  region  was  the  name  of  a  famous  trader, 
Cuthbert  Grant,  the  father  of  the  leader  of  the  half-breeds  and 
Nor'-Westers,  of  whom  we  shall  speak  afterwards.  At  the 
mouth  of  Shell  River  on  the  Assiniboine  stood  a  small  fort  built 
by  Peter  Grant  in  1794. 

When  the  Nor5 -Westers  became  acquainted  with  the  route 
down  the  Assiniboine,  they  followed  it  to  its  mouth,  and  from 
that  point,  where  it  joined  the  Red  River,  descended  to  Lake 
Winnipeg  and  crossed  to  the  Winnipeg  River. 

In  order  to  do  this  they  established  in  1785,  as  a  halting 
place,  Pine  Fort,  about  eighteen  miles  below  the  junction  of  the 
Souris  and  Assiniboine  Rivers.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Souris 
River,  and  near  the  site  of  the  Brandon  House,  already  de- 
scribed as  built  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  the  North- 
West  Company  built  in  1795  Assiniboine  House.  This  fort 
became  of  great  importance  as  the  depot  for  expeditions  to  the 
Mandans  of  the  Missouri  River. 

The  union  of  the  Montreal  Companies  resulted,  as  had  been 
expected,  in  a  great  expansion  of  the  trade.  In  1788  the  gross 
amount  of  the  trade  did  not  exceed  40,000?.,  but  by  the  energy 
of  the  partners  it  reached  before  the  end  of  the  century  more 
than  three  times  that  amount — a  remarkable  showing. 

The  route  now  being  fully  established,  the  trade  settled  down 
into  regular  channels.  The  agents  of  the  Company  in  Mon- 
treal, Messrs.  McTavish  &  Co.,  found  it  necessary  to  order  the 
goods  needed  from  England  eighteen  months  before  they  could 
leave  Montreal  for  the  West.  Arriving  in  Canada  in  the 
summer,  they  were  then  made  up  in  packages  for  the  Indian 
trade.  These  weighed  about  ninety  pounds  each,  and  were 
ready  to  be  borne  inland  in  the  following  spring. 

Then  being  sent  to  the  West,  they  were  taken  to  the  far 
points  in  the  ensuing  winter,  where  they  were  exchanged  for 
furs.  The  furs  reached  Montreal  in  the  next  autumn,  when 


122  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

they  were  stored  to  harden,  and  were  not  to  be  sold  or  paid  for 
before  the  following  season.  This  was  forty-two  months  after 
the  goods  were  ordered  in  Canada.  This  trade  was  a  very 
heavy  one  to  conduct,  inasmuch  as  allowing  a  merchant  one 
year's  credit,  he  had  still  two  years  to  carry  the  burden  after 
the  value  of  the  goods  had  been  considered  as  cash. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  century  a  single  year's  produce  was 
enormous.  One  such  year  was  represented  by  106,000  beavers, 
32,000  marten,  11,800  mink,  17,000  musquash,  and,  counting 
all  together,  not  less  than  184,000  skins. 

The  agents  necessary  to  carry  on  this  enormous  volume  of 
trade  were  numerous.  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie  informs  us 
that  there  were  employed  in  the  concern,  not  including  officers 
or  partners,  50  clerks,  71  interpreters  and  clerks,  1,120  canoe- 
men,  and  35  guides. 

The  magnitude  of  the  operations  of  this  Company  may  be 
seen  from  the  foregoing  statements.  The  capital  required  by 
the  agents  of  the  concern  in  Montreal,  the  number  of  men 
employed,  the  vast  quantities  of  goods  sent  out  in  bales  made 
up  for  the  western  trade,  and  the  enormous  store  of  furs 
received  in  exchange,  all  combined  to  make  the  business  of  the 
North-West  Company  an  important  factor  in  Canadian  life. 

Canada  was  then  in  her  infancy.  Upper  Canada  was  not 
constituted  a  province  until  the  date  of  the  formation  of  the 
North- West  Company.  Montreal  and  Quebec,  the  only  places 
of  any  importance,  were  small  towns.  The  absence  of  manu- 
factures, agriculture,  and  means  of  inter-communication  or 
transport,  led  to  the  North-West  Company  being  the  chief 
source  of  money-making  in  Canada.  As  the  fur  merchants 
became  rich  from  their  profits,  they  bought  seigniories,  builfc 
mansions,  and  even  in  some  cases  purchased  estates  in  the 
old  land. 

Simon  McTavish  may  be  looked  upon  as  a  type.  After  a 
most  active  life,  and  when  he  had  accumulated  a  handsome 
competence,  Simon  McTavish  owned  the  Seigniory  of  Terre- 
bonne,  receiving  in  1802  a  grant  of  11,500  acres  in  the  town- 
ship of  Chester.  He  was  engaged  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
which  took  place  in  1804,  in  erecting  a  princely  mansion  at 
the  foot  of  the  Mountain  in  Montreal.  For  half  a  century 


THE   NORTH-WEST   COMPANY   FORMED     123 

the  ruins  of  this  building  were  the  dread  of  children,  and 
were  known  as  McTavish's  "  Haunted  House."  The  fur- 
trader's  tomb  may  still  be  recognized  by  an  obelisk  enclosed 
within  stone  walls,  near  "  Ravenscrag,"  the  residence  of  the 
late  Sir  Hugh  Allan,  which  occupies  the  site  of  the  old  ruin. 
Surely  the  glory  of  the  lords  of  the  lakes  and  the  forest  has 
passed  away. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

VOYAGES  OF  SIB  ALEXANDER  MACKENZIE. 

A  young  Highlander — To  rival  Hearne — Fort  Chipewyan  built — 
French  Canadian  voyageurs — Trader  Leroux — Perils  of  the  route 
— Post  erected  on  Arctic  Coast — Return  journey — Pond's  miscal- 
culations— Hudson  Bay  Turner — Roderick  McKenzie's  hospitality 
— Alexander  Mackenzie — Astronomy  and  mathematics — Winters 
on  Peace  River — Terrific  journey — The  Pacific  slope— Dangerous 
Indians — Pacific  Ocean,  1793 — North- West  passage  by  land — • 
Great  achievement — A  notable  book. 

ONE  of  the  chiefs  of  the  fur  traders  seems  to  have  had  a  higher 
ambition  than  simply  to  carry  back  to  Grand  Portage  canoes 
overflowing  with  furs.  Alexander  Mackenzie  had  the  restless 
spirit  that  made  him  a  very  uncertain  partner  in  the  great 
schemes  of  McTavish,  Frobisher  &  Co.,  and  led  him  to  seek 
for  glory  in  the  task  of  exploration.  Coming  as  a  young  High- 
lander to  Montreal,  he  had  early  been  so  appreciated  for  his 
ability  as  to  be  sent  by  Gregory,  McLeod  &  Co.  to  conduct  their 
enterprise  in  Detroit.  Then  we  have  seen  that,  refusing  to 
enter  the  McTavish  Company,  he  had  gone  to  Churchill  River 
for  the  Gregory  Company.  The  sudden  union  of  all  the 
Montreal  Companies  (1787)  caused,  as  already  noted,  by 
Pond's  murder  of  Ross,  led  to  Alexander  Mackenzie  being 
placed  in  charge  in  that  year  of  the  department  of  Athabasca. 
The  longed-for  opportunity  had  now  come  to  Mackenzie. 
He  heard  from  the  Indians  and  others  of  how  Samuel  Hearne, 
less  than  twenty  years  before,  on  behalf  of  their  great  rivals, 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  had  returned  by  way  of  Lake 
Athabasca  from  his  discovery  of  the  Coppermine  River.  He 
longed  to  reach  the  Arctic  Sea  by  another  river  of  which  he  had 
heard,  and  eclipse  the  discovery  of  his  rival.  He  even  had  it  in 
view  to  seek  the  Pacific  Ocean,  of  which  he  was  constantly 

124 


VOYAGES  OF  SIR  ALEXANDER  MACKENZIE   125 

hearing  from  the  Indians,  where  white  men  wearing  armour 
were  to  be  met — no  doubt  meaning  the  Spaniards. 

Mackenzie  proceeded  in  a  very  deliberate  way  to  prepare  for 
his  long  journey.  Having  this  expedition  in  view,  he  secured 
the  appointment  of  his  cousin,  Roderick  McKenzie,  to  his  own 
department.  Reaching  Lake  Athabasca,  Roderick  McKenzie 
selected  a  promontory  running  out  some  three  miles  into  the 
lake,  and  here  built  (1788)  Fort  Chipewyan,  it  being  called 
from  the  Indians  who  chiefly  frequented  the  district.  It 
became  the  most  important  fort  of  the  north  country,  being 
at  the  converging  point  of  trade  on  the  great  watercourses 
of  the  north-west. 

On  June  3rd,  1789,  Alexander  Mackenzie  started  on  his  first 
exploration.  In  his  own  birch-bark  canoe  wras  a  crew  of  seven. 
His  crew  is  worthy  of  being  particularized.  It  consisted  of 
four  French  Canadians,  with  the  wives  of  two  of  them.  These 
voyageurs  were  Fran£ois  Barrieau,  Charles  Ducette,  or  Cadien, 
Joseph  Landry,  or  Cadien,  Pierre  de  Lorme.  To  complete  the 
number  was  John  Steinbruck,  a  German.  The  second  canoe 
contained  the  guide  of  the  expedition,  an  Indian,  called  the 
"  English  chief,"  who  was  a  great  trader,  and  had  frequented 
year  by  year  the  route  to  the  English,  on  Hudson  Bay.  In 
his  canoe  were  his  two  wives,  and  two  young  Indians.  In  a 
third  canoe  was  trader  Leroux,  who  was  to  accompany  the 
explorer  as  far  north  as  Slave  Lake,  and  dispose  of  the  goods 
he  took  for  furs.  Leroux  was  under  orders  from  his  chief  to 
build  a  fort  on  Slave  Lake. 

Starting  on  June  3rd,  the  party  left  the  lake,  finding  their 
way  down  Slave  River,  which  they  already  knew.     Day  after 
day  they  journeyed,  suffered  from  myriads  of  mosquitoes, 
passed  the  steep  mountain  portage,  and,  undergoing  many  Jr 
hardships,  reached  Slave  Lake  in  nine  days. 

Skirting  the  lake,  they  departed  north  by  an  unknown 
river.  This  was  the  object  of  Mackenzie's  search.  Floating 
down  the  stream,  the  Horn  Mountains  were  seen,  portage  after 
portage  was  crossed,  the  mouth  of  the  foaming  Great  Slave 
Lake  River  was  passed,  the  snowy  mountains  came  in  view  in 
the  distance,  and  the  party,  undeterred,  pressed  forward  on 
their  voyage  of  discovery. 


126  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

The  usual  incidents  of  early  travel  were  experienced.  The 
accidents,  though  not  serious,  were  numerous  ;  the  scenes  met 
with  were  all  new  ;  the  natives  were  surprised  at  the  bearded 
stranger  ;  the  usual  deception  and  fickleness  were  displayed  by 
the  Indians,  only  to  be  overcome  by  the  firmness  and  tact  of 
Mackenzie  ;  and  forty  days  after  starting,  the  expedition 
looked  out  upon  the  floating  ice  of  the  Arctic  Ocean.  Macken- 
zie, on  the  morning  of  July  14th,  erected  a  post  on  the  shore, 
on  which  he  engraved  the  latitude  of  the  place  (69  deg.  14'  N.), 
his  own  name,  the  number  of  persons  in  the  party,  and  the 
time  they  remained  there. 

His  object  having  been  thus  accomplished,  the  important 
matter  was  to  reach  Lake  Athabasca  in  the  remaining  days  of 
the  open  season.  The  return  journey  had  the  usual  experi- 
ences, and  on  August  24th  they  came  upon  Leroux  on  Slave 
Lake,  where  that  trader  had  erected  Fort  Providence.  On 
September  12th  the  expedition  arrived  safely  at  Fort  Chipe- 
wyan,  the  time  of  absence  having  been  102  days.  The  story  of 
this  journey  is  given  in  a  graphic  and  unaffected  manner  by 
Mackenzie  in  his  work  of  1801,  but  no  mention  is  made  of  his ' 
own  name  being  attached  to  the  river  which  he  had  discovered. 

We  have  stated  that  Peter  Pond  had  prepared  a  map  of  the 
north  country,  with  the  purpose  of  presenting  it  to  the  Empress 
of  Russia.  Being  a  man  of  great  energy,  he  was  not  deterred 
from  this  undertaking  by  the  fact  that  he  had  no  knowledge  of 
astronomical  instruments  and  little  of  the  art  of  map-making. 
His  statements  were  made  on  the  basis  of  reports  from  the 
Indians,  whose  custom  was  always  to  make  the  leagues  short, 
that  they  might  boast  of  the  length  of  their  journeys.  Com- 
puting in  this  way,  he  made  Lake  Athabasca  so  far  from  Hud- 
son Bay  and  the  Grand  Portage  that,  taking  Captain  Cook's 
observations  on  the  Pacific  Coast  four  years  before  this,  the 
lake  was  only,  according  to  his  calculations,  a  hundred  or  a 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

The  effect  of  Pond's  calculations,  which  became  known  in  the 
Treaty  of  Paris,  was  to  stimulate  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
to  follow  up  Hearne's  discoveries  and  to  explore  the  country 
west  of  Lake  Athabasca.  They  attempted  this  in  1785,  but 
they  sent  out  a  boy  of  fifteen,  named  George  Charles,  who  had 


VOYAGES  OF  SIR  ALEXANDER  MACKENZIE    127 

been  one  year  at  a  mathematical  school,  and  had  never  made 
there  more  than  simple  observations.  As  was  to  have  been 
expected,  the  boy  proved  incompetent.  Urged  on  by  the 
Colonial  Office,  they  again  in  1791  organized  an  expedition  to 
send  Astronomer  Philip  to  Turner  to  make  the  western  journey. 
Unaccustomed  to  the  Far  West,  and  poorly  provided  for  this 
journey,  Turner  found  himself  at  Fort  Chipewyan  entirely 
dependent  for  help  and  shelter  on  the  Nor' -Westers.  He  was, 
however,  qualified  for  his  work,  and  made  correct  observations, 
which  settled  the  question  of  the  distance  of  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
Mr.  Roderick  McKenzie  showed  him  every  hospitality.  This 
expedition  served  at  least  to  show  that  the  Pacific  was  certainly 
five  times  the  distance  from  Lake  Athabasca  that  Pond  had 
estimated. 

After  coming  back  from  the  Arctic  Sea,  Alexander  Mac- 
kenzie spent  his  time  in  urging  forward  the  business  of  the  fur 
trade,  especially  north  of  Lake  Athabasca  ;  but  there  was 
burning  in  his  breast  the  desire  to  be  the  discoverer  of  the 
Western  Sea.  The  voyage  of  Turner  made  him  still  more 
desirous  of  going  to  the  West. 

Like  Hearne,  Alexander  Mackenzie  had  found  the  want  of 
astronomical  knowledge  and  the  lack  of  suitable  instruments 
a  great  drawback  in  determining  his  whereabouts  from  day  to 
day.  With  remarkable  energy,  he,  in  the  year  1 79 1 ,  j  ourneyed 
eastward  to  Canada,  crossed  the  Atlantic  Ocean  to  London, 
and  spent  the  winter  in  acquiring  the  requisite  mathematical 
knowledge  and  a  sufficient  acquaintance  with  instruments 
to  enable  him  to  take  observations. 

He  was  now  prepared  to  make  his  journey  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  He  states  that  the  courage  of  his  party  had  been 
kept  up  on  their  reaching  the  Arctic  Sea,  by  the  thought  that 
they  were  approaching  the  Mer  de  FOuest,  which,  it  will  be 
remembered,  Verendrye  had  sought  with  such  passionate 
desire. 

In  the  very  year  in  which  Mackenzie  returned  from  Great 
Britain,  his  great  purpose  to  reach  the  Pacific  Coast  led  him  to 
make  his  preparations  in  the  autumn,  and  on  October  10th, 
1792,  to  leave  Fort  Chipewyan  and  proceed  as  far  up  Peace 
River  as  the  farthest  settlement,  and  there  winter,  to  be  ready 


ia8  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

for  an  early  start  in  the  following  spring.  On  his  way  he 
overtook  Mr.  Finlay,  the  younger,  and  called  upon  him  in  his 
camp  near  the  fort,  where  he  was  to  trade  for  the  winter. 
Leaving  Mr.  Finlay  "  under  several  volleys  of  musketry," 
Mackenzie  pushed  on  and  reached  the  spot  where  the  men  had 
been  despatched  in  the  preceding  spring  to  square  timber  for  a 
house  and  cut  palisades  to  fortify  it.  Here,  where  the  Boncave 
joins  the  main  branch  of  the  Peace  River,  the  fort  was  erected. 
His  own  house  was  not  ready  for  occupation  before  December 
23rd,  and  the  body  of  the  men  went  on  after  that  date  to 
erect  five  houses  for  which  the  material  had  been  prepared. 
Troubles  were  plentiful ;  such  as  the  quarrelsomeness  of  the 
natives,  the  killing  of  an  Indian,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
winter  severe  cold.  In  May,  Mackenzie  despatched  six  canoes 
laden  with  furs  for  Fort  Chipewyan. 

The  somewhat  cool  reception  that  Mackenzie  had  received 
from  the  other  partners  at  Grand  Portage,  when  on  a  former 
occasion  he  had  given  an  account  of  his  voyage  to  the  Arctic 
Sea,  led  him  to  be  doubtful  whether  his  confreres  would  fully 
approve  the  great  expedition  on  which  he  was  determined  to 
go.  He  was  comparatively  a  young  man,  and  he  knew  that 
there  were  many  of  the  traders  jealous  of  him.  Still,  his  deter- 
mined character  led  him  to  hold  to  his  plan,  and  his  great 
energy  urged  him  to  make  a  name  for  himself. 

Mackenzie  had  found  much  difficulty  in  securing  guides  and 
voyageurs.  The  trip  proposed  was  so  difficult  that  the  bravest 
shrank  from  it.  The  explorer  had,  however,  great  confidence 
in  his  colleague,  Alexander  Mackay,  who  had  arrived  at  the 
Forks  a  few  weeks  before  the  departure.  Mackay  was  a  most 
experienced  and  shrewd  man.  After  faithfully  serving  his 
Company,  he  entered,  as  we  shall  see,  the  Astor  Fur  Company 
in  1811,  and  was  killed  among  the  first  in  the  fierce  attack 
on  the  ship  Tonquin,  which  was  captured  by  the  natives. 
Mackenzie's  crew  was  the  best  he  could  obtain,  and  their 
names  have  become  historic.  There  were  besides  Mackay, 
Joseph  Landry  and  Charles  Ducette,  two  voyageurs  of  the 
former  expedition,  Baptiste  Bisson,  Fra^ois  Courtois,  Jacques 
Beauchamp,  and  Frangois  Beaulieu,  the  last  of  whom  died  so 
late  as  1872,  aged  nearly  one  hundred  years,  probably  the  oldest 


VOYAGES  OF  SIR  ALEXANDER  MACKENZIE   129 

man  in  the  North -West  at  the  time.  Archbishop  Tache  gives 
an  interesting  account  of  Beaulieu's  baptism  at  the  age  of 
seventy.  Two  Indians  completed  the  party,  one  of  whom  had 
been  so  idle  a  lad,  that  he  bore  till  his  dying  day  the  un- 
enviable name  of  "  Cancre  " — the  crab. 

Having  taken,  on  the  day  of  his  departure,  the  latitude  and 
longitude  of  his  winter  post,  Mackenzie  started  on  May  9th, 
1793,  for  his  notable  voyage.  Seeing  on  the  banks  of  the 
river  elk,  buffalo,  and  bear,  the  expedition  pushed  ahead,  meet- 
ing the  difficulties  of  navigation  with  patience  and  skill.  The 
murmurs  of  his  men  and  the  desire  to  turn  back  made  no 
impression  on  Mackenzie,  who,  now  that  his  Highland  blood 
was  up,  determined  to  see  the  journey  through.  The  difficul- 
ties of  navigation  became  extreme,  and  at  times  the  canoes  had 
to  be  drawn  up  stream  by  the  branches  of  trees. 

At  length  in  longitude  121°  W.  Mackenzie  reached  a  lake, 
which  he  considered  the  head  of  the  Ayugal  or  Peace  River. 
Here  the  party  landed,  unloaded  the  canoes,  and  by  a  portage 
of  half-a-mile  on  a  well-beaten  path,  came  upon  another  small 
lake.  From  this  lake  the  explorers  followed  a  small  river, 
and  here  the  guide  deserted  the  party.  On  June  17th  the 
members  of  the  expedition  enjoyed,  after  all  their  toil  and 
anxiety,  the  "  inexpressible  satisfaction  of  finding  themselves 
on  the  bank  of  a  navigable  river  on  the  west  side  of  the  first 
great  range  of  mountains." 

Running  rapids,  breaking  canoes,  re-ascending  streams, 
quieting  discontent,  building  new  canoes,  disturbing  tribes  of 
surprised  Indians,  and  urging  on  his  discouraged  band,  Macken- 
zie persistently  kept  on  his  way.  He  was  descending  on 
Tacoutche  Tesse,  afterwards  known  as  the  Fraser  River. 
Finding  that  the  distance  by  this  river  was  too  great,  he  turned 
back.  At  the  point  where  he  took  this  step  (June  23rd)  was 
afterwards  built  Alexandria  Fort,  named  after  the  explorer. 
Leaving  the  great  river,  the  party  crossed  the  country  to  what 
Mackenzie  called  the  West  Road  River.  For  this  land  journey, 
begun  on  July  4th,  the  explorers  were  provided  with  food. 
After  sixteen  days  of  a  most  toilsome  journey,  they  at  length 
came  upon  an  arm  of  the  sea.  The  Indians  near  the  coasfc 
seemed  very  troublesome,  but  the  courage  of  Mackenzie  never 


130  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

failed  him.     It  was  represented  to  him  that  the  natives  *  *  were 
as  numerous  as  mosquitoes  and  of  a  very  malignant  character/' 

His  destination  having  been  reached,  the  commander  mixed 
up  some  vermilion  in  melted  grease  and  inscribed  in  large 
characters  on  the  south-east  face  of  the  rock,  on  which  they 
passed  the  night,  "  Alexander  Mackenzie,  from  Canada,  by 
land  the  twenty-second  of  July,  one  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  ninety -three." 

After  a  short  rest  the  well -repaid  explorers  began  their  home- 
ward journey.  To  ascend  the  Pacific  slope  was  a  toilsome  and 
discouraging  undertaking,  but  the  energy  which  had  enabled 
them  to  come  through  an  unknown  road  easily  led  them  back 
by  a  way  that  had  now  lost  its  uncertainty.  Mackenzie 
says  that  when  "  we  reached  the  downward  current  of  the 
Peace  River  and  came  in  view  of  Fort  McLeod,  we  threw  out 
our  flag  and  accompanied  it  with  a  general  discharge  of  firearms, 
while  the  men  were  in  such  spirits  and  made  such  an  active  use 
of  their  paddles,  that  we  arrived  before  the  two  men  whom  we 
left  in  the  spring  could  recover  their  senses  to  answer  us.  Thus 
we  landed  at  four  in  the  afternoon  at  the  place  which  we 
left  in  the  month  of  May.  In  another  month  (August  24th) 
Fort  Chipewyan  was  reached,  where  the  following  winter  was 
spent  in  trade. 

It  is  hard  to  estimate  all  the  obstacles  overcome  and  the 
great  service  rendered  in  the  two  voyages  of  Alexander  Mack- 
enzie. Readers  of  the  "  North- West  Passage  by  Land  "  will 
remember  the  pitiable  plight  in  which  Lord  Milton  and  Dr. 
Cheadle,  nearly  seventy  years  afterwards,  reached  the  coast. 
Mackenzie's  journey  was  more  difficult,  but  the  advantage  lay 
with  the  fur -traders  in  that  they  were  experts  in  the  matters  of 
North-West  travel.  Time  and  again,  Mackenzie's  party  be- 
came discouraged.  When  the  Pacific  slope  was  reached,  and 
the  voyageurs  saw  the  waters  begin  to  run  away  from  the 
country  with  which  they  were  acquainted,  their  fears  were 
aroused,  and  it  was  natural  that  they  should  be  unwilling  to 
proceed  further. 

Mackenzie  had,  however,  all  the  instincts  of  a  brave  and 
tactful  leader.  On  one  occasion  he  was  compelled  to  take  a 
stand  and  declare  that  if  his  party  deserted  him,  he  would  go 


VOYAGES  OF  SIR  ALEXANDER  MACKENZIE   131 

on  alone.  This  at  once  aroused  their  admiration  and  sym- 
pathy, and  they  offered  to  follow  him.  At  the  point  on  the 
great  river  where  he  turned  back,  the  Indians  were  exceedingly 
hostile.  His  firmness  and  perfect  self-control  showed  the 
same  spirit  that  is  found  in  all  great  leaders  in  dealing  with 
savage  or  semi-civilized  races.  Men  like  Frontenac,  Macken- 
zie, and  General  Gordon  seemed  to  have  a  charmed  life  which 
enabled  them  to  exercise  a  species  of  mesmeric  influence  over 
half-trained  or  entirely  uncultivated  minds. 

From  the  wider  standpoint,  knowledge  was  supplied  as  to  the 
country  lying  between  the  two  great  oceans,  and  while  it  did 
not,  as  we  know  from  the  voyages  seeking  a  North- West 
Passage  in  this  century,  lay  the  grim  spectre  of  an  Arctic 
channel,  yet  it  was  a  fulfilment  of  Verendrye's  dream,  and 
to  Alexander  Mackenzie,  a  Canadian  bourgeois,  a  self-made 
man,  aided  by  his  Scotch  and  French  associates,  had  come 
the  happy  opportunity  of  discovering  "  La  Grande  Mer  de 
1'Ouest." 

Alexander  Mackenzie,  filled  with  the  sense  of  the  importance 
of  his  discovery,  determined  to  give  it  to  the  world,  and  spent 
the  winter  at  Fort  Chipewyan  in  preparing  the  material.  In 
this  he  was  much  assisted  by  his  cousin,  Roderick  McKenzie, 
to  whom  he  sent  the  journal  for  revision  and  improvement. 
Early  in  the  year  1794,  the  distinguished  explorer  left  Lake 
Athabasca,  journeyed  over  to  Grand  Portage,  and  a  year 
afterward  revisited  his  native  land.  He  never  returned  to 
the  "  Upper  Country,"  as  the  Athabasca  region  was  called, 
but  became  one  of  the  agents  of  the  fur -traders  in  Montreal, 
never  coming  farther  toward  the  North-west  than  to  be 
present  at  the  annual  gatherings  of  the  traders  at  Grand 
Portage.  The  veteran  explorer  continued  in  this  position  till 
the  time  when  he  crossed  the  Atlantic  and  published  his  well- 
known  "  Voyages  from  Montreal,"  dedicated  to  "  His  Most 
Sacred  Majesty  George  the  Third."  The  book,  while  making 
no  pretensions  to  literary  attainment,  is  yet  a  clear,  succinct, 
and  valuable  account  of  the  fur  trade  and  his  own  expeditions. 
It  was  the  work  which  excited  the  interest  of  Lord  Selkirk 
in  Rupert's  Land  and  which  has  become  a  recognized 
authority. 


132  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

In  1801  this  work  of  Alexander  Mackenzie  was  published, 
and  the  order  of  knighthood  was  conferred  upon  the  successful 
explorer.  On  his  return  to  Canada,  Sir  Alexander  engaged  in 
strong  opposition  to  the  North- West  Company  and  became 
a  member  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  for  Huntingdon  County, 
in  Lower  Canada.  He  lived  in  Scotland  during  the  last  years 
of  his  life,  and  died  in  the  same  year  as  the  Earl  of  Selkirk, 
1820.  Thus  passed  away  a  man  of  independent  mind  and  of 
the  highest  distinction.  His  name  is  fixed  upon  a  region  that 
is  now  coming  into  greater  notice  than  ever  before. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

THE    GREAT   EXPLORATION. 

Grand  Portage  on  American  soil — Anxiety  about  the  boundary — 
David  Thompson,  astronomer  and  surveyor — His  instructions 
— By  swift  canoe — The  land  of  beaver — A  dash  to  the  Mandans 
— Stone  Indian  House — Fixes  the  boundary  at  Pembina — Sources 
of  the  Mississippi — A  marvellous  explorer — Pacific  slope  explored 
—Thompson  down  the  Kootenay  and  Columbia — Fiery  Simon 
Fraser  in  New  Caledonia — Discovers  Fraser  River — Sturdy  John 
Stuart — Thompson  River — Bourgeois  Quesnel — Transcontinental 
expeditions. 

A  NUMBER  of  events  conspired  to  make  it  necessary  for  the 
North-West  Company  to  be  well  acquainted  with  the  location 
of  its  forts  within  the  limits  of  the  territory  of  the  United 
States,  in  some  parts  of  which  it  carried  on  operations  of  trade, 
and  to  understand  its  relation  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's 
territory.  The  treaty  of  amity  and  commerce,  which  is  usually 
connected  with  the  name  of  John  Jay,  1794,  seemed  to  say  that 
all  British  forts  in  United  States  territory  were  to  be  evacuated 
in  two  years.  This  threw  the  partners  at  Grand  Portage  into 
a  state  of  excitement,  inasmuch  as  they  knew  that  the  very 
place  of  their  gathering  was  on  the  American  side  of  the 
boundary  line. 

DAVID   THOMPSON,    ASTRONOMER  AND    SURVEYOR. 

At  this  juncture  the  fitting  instrument  appeared  at  Grand 
Portage.  This  was  David  Thompson.  This  gentleman  was 
a  Londoner,  educated  at  the  Blue  Coat  School,  in  London. 
Trained  thoroughly  in  mathematics  and  the  use  of  astronomi- 
cal instruments,  he  had  obtained  a  position  in  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company.  In  the  summer  of  1795,  with  three  com- 
panions, two  of  them  Indians,  he  had  found  his  way  from 

133 


134  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Hudson  Bay  to  Lake  Athabasca,  and  thus  showed  his  capa- 
bility as  an  explorer.  Returning  from  his  Western  expedi- 
tion, he  reported  to  Mr.  Joseph  Colon,  the  officer  in  charge  at 
York  Fort,  by  whose  orders  he  had  gone  to  Athabasca,  and 
expressed  himself  as  willing  to  undertake  further  explorations 
for  the  Company.  The  answer  was  curt — to  the  effect  that  no 
more  surveys  could  then  be  undertaken  by  the  Company,  how- 
ever desirable.  Thompson  immediately  decided  to  seek  em- 
ployment elsewhere  in  the  work  for  which  he  was  so  well 
qualified.  Leaving  the  Bay  and  the  Company  behind,  attend- 
ed only  by  two  Indians,  he  journeyed  inland  and  presented  him- 
self at  the  summer  meeting  of  the  North-West  fur-traders  at 
Grand  Portage.  Without  hesitation  they  appointed  him 
astronomer  and  surveyor  of  the  North-West  Company. 

Astronomer  Thompson's  work  was  well  mapped  out  for  him. 

(1)  He  was  instructed  to  survey  the  forty -ninth  parallel  of 
latitude.     This  involved  a  question  which  had  greatly  per- 
plexed the  diplomatists,  viz.  the  position  of  the  source  of  the 
Mississippi.     Many  years  after  this  date  it  was  a  question 
to  decide  which  tributary  is  the  source  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
to  this  day  there  is  a  difference  of  opinion  on  the  subject, 
i.e.  which  of  the  lakes  from  which  different  branches  spring  is 
the  true  source  of  the  river.     The  fact  that  the  sources  were  a 
factor  in  the  settling  of  the  boundary  line  of  this  time  made  it 
necessary  to  have  expert  testimony  on  the  question  such  as 
could  be  furnished  by  a  survey  by  Thompson. 

(2)  The  surveyor  was  to  go  to  the  Missouri  and  visit  the 
ancient  villages  of  the  natives  who  dwelt  there  and  who 
practised  agriculture. 

(3)  In  the  interests  of  science  and  history,  to  inquire  for 
the  fossils  of  large  animals,  and  to  search  for  any  monuments 
that  might  throw  a  light  on  the  ancient  state  of  the  regions 
traversed. 

(4)  It  was  his  special  duty  to  determine  the  exact  position 
of  the  posts  of  the  North-West  Company  visited  by  him,  and 
all  agents  and  employes  were  instructed  to  render  him  every 
assistance  in  his  work. 

Astronomer  Thompson  only  waited  the  departure  of  one  of 
the  Great  Northern  brigades  to  enter  upon  the  duties  of  his  new 


THE   GREAT   EXPLORATION  135 

office.  These  departures  were  the  events  of  the  year,  having 
in  the  eyes  of  the  fur -traders  something  of  the  nature  of  a 
caravan  for  Mecca  about  them.  Often  a  brigade  consisted  of 
eight  canoes  laden  with  goods  and  well -manned.  The  brigade 
which  Thompson  accompanied  was  made  up  of  four  canoes 
under  trader  McGillis,  and  was  ready  to  start  on  August  9th, 
1796.  He  had  taken  the  observation  for  Grand  Portage  and 
found  it  to  be  48  deg.  (nearly)  N.  latitude  and  89  deg.  3'  4" 
(nearly)  W.  longitude. 

He  was  now  ready  with  his  instruments — a  sextant  of  ten 
inches  radius,  with  quicksilver  and  parallel  glasses,  an  excel- 
lent achromatic  telescope,  otfe  of  the  smaller  kind,  drawing 
instruments,  and  a  thernfometer,  and  all  of  these  of  the  best 
make.  The  portage  was  wearily  trudged,  and  in  a  few  days, 
after  a  dozen  shorter  portages,  the  height  of  land  was  reached 
in  48  deg.  N.  latitude,  and  here  begins  the  flow  of  water  to 
Hudson  Bay.  It  was  accordingly  the  claim  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  that  their  territory  extended  from  this  point 
to  the  Bay.  At  the  outlet  of  Rainy  Lake  still  stood  a  trading 
post,  where  Verendrye  had  founded  his  fort,  and  the  position  of 
this  was  determined,  48  deg.  1'  2"  N.  latitude.  In  this  locality 
was  also  a  post  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

No  post  seems  at  this  time  to  have  been  in  use  on  Rainy 
River  or  Lake  of  the  Woods  by  any  of  the  trading  companies, 
though  it  will  be  seen  that  the  X  Y  Company  was  at  this  date 
beginning  its  operations.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Winnipeg 
River,  however,  there  were  two  establishments,  the  one  known 
as  Lake  Winnipeg  House,  or  Bas  de  la  Riviere,  an  important 
distributing  point,  now  found  to  be  in  50  deg.  1'  2"  N.  lati- 
tude. There  was  also  near  by  it  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
post,  founded  in  the  previous  year. 

Thompson,  being  in  company  with  his  brigade,  which  was 
going  to  the  west  of  Lake  Manitoba,  coasted  along  Lake 
Winnipeg,  finding  it  dangerous  to  cross  directly,  and  after 
taking  this  roundabout,  in  place  of  the  127  miles  in  a  straight 
line,  reached  what  is  now  known  as  the  Little  Saskatchewan 
River  on  the  west  side  of  Lake  Winnipeg. 

Going  by  the  little  Saskatchewan  River  through  its  windings 
and  across  the  meadow  portage,  he  came  to  Lake  Winni- 


136  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

pegoosis  and,  northward  along  its  western  coast,  reached  Swan 
River,  the  trappers'  paradise.  Swan  River  post  was  twelve 
miles  up  the  river  from  its  mouth,  and  was  found  to  be  in 
52  deg  24'  N.  latitude.  Crossing  over  to  the  Assiniboine 
(Stone  Indian)  River,  he  visited  several  posts,  the  most  con- 
siderable being  Fort  Tremblant  (Poplar  Fort),  which  some 
think  had  its  name  changed  to  Fort  Alexandria  in  honour  of 
Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie. 

John  McDonnell,  North- West  trader  of  this  period,  says  : — 
"  Fort  Tremblant  and  the  temporary  posts  established  above 
it  furnished  most  of  the  beaver  and  otter  in  the  Red  River 
returns,  but  the  trade  has  been  almost  ruined  since  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  entered  the  Assiniboine  River  by  the 
way  of  Swan  River,  carrying  their  merchandise  from  one 
river  to  the  other  on  horseback — three  days'  journey — who  by 
that  means,  and  the  short  distance  between  Swan  River  and 
their  factory  at  York  Fort,  from  whence  they  are  equipped,  can 
arrive  at  the  coude  de  I'homme  (a  river  bend  or  angle)  in  the 
Assiniboine  River,  a  month  sooner  than  we  can  return  from 
Grand  Portage,  secure  the  fall  trade,  give  credits  to  the 
Indians,  and  send  them  to  hunt  before  our  arrival ;  so  that  we 
see  but  few  in  that  quarter  upon  our  arrival." 

The  chief  trader  of  this  locality  was  Cuthbert  Grant,  who,  as 
before  mentioned,  was  a  man  of  great  influence  in  the  fur  trade. 

The  astronomer  next  went  to  the  Fort  between  the  Swan 
and  Assiniboine  Rivers,  near  the  spot  where  the  famous  Fort 
Pelly  of  the  present  day  is  situated.  Taking  horses,  a  rapid 
land  journey  was  made  to  Belleau's  Fort,  lying  in  53  deg.  N. 
latitude  (nearly). 

The  whole  district  is  a  succession  of  beaver  meadows,  and 
had  at  this  time  several  Hudson's  Bay  Company  posts,  as 
already  mentioned.  Thompson  decided  to  winter  in  this 
beaver  country,  and  when  the  following  summer  had  fairly 
set  in  with  good  roads  and  blossoming  prairies,  he  came,  after 
journeying  more  than  200  miles  southward,  to  the  Qu'Appelle 
River  post,  which  was  at  that  time  under  a  trader  named 
Thorburn.  Thompson  was  now  fairly  on  the  Assiniboine 
River,  and  saw  it  everywhere  run  through  an  agreeable  country 
with  a  good  soil  and  adapted  to  agriculture. 


THE    GREAT   EXPLORATION  137 

Arrived  at  Assiniboine  House,  he  found  it  in  charge  of  John 
McDonnell,  brother  of  the  well-known  Miles  McDonnell,  who, 
a  few  years  later,  became  Lord  Selkirk's  first  governor  on  Red 
River.  Ensconcing  himself  in  the  comfortable  quarters  at 
Assiniboine  House,  Thompson  wrote  up  in  ink  his  journals, 
maps,  astronomical  observations,  and  sketches  which  he  had 
taken  in  crayon,  thus  giving  them  more  permanent  form.  He 
had  now  been  in  the  employ  of  the  North-West  Company  a 
full  year,  and  in  that  time  had  been  fully  gratified  by  the  work 
he  had  done  and  by  the  cordial  reception  given  him  in  all  the 
forts  to  which  he  had  gone. 

Assiniboine  House,  or,  as  he  called  it,  Stone  Indian  House, 
was  found  to  be  a  congenial  spot.  It  was  on  the  north  side  of 
the  Assiniboine  River,  not  far  from  where  the  Souris  River 
empties  its  waters  into  the  larger  stream,  though  the  site  has 
been  disputed. 

One  of  the  astronomer's  clearly  defined  directions  was  to 
visit  the  Mandan  villages  on  the  Missouri  River.  He  was  now 
at  the  point  when  this  could  be  accomplished,  although  the 
time  chosen  by  him,  just  as  winter  was  corning  on,  was  most 
unsuitable.  His  Journey  reminds  us  of  that  made  by  Veren- 
drye  to  the  Mandans  in  1738. 

The  journey  was  carefully  prepared  for.  With  the  charac- 
teristic shrewdness  of  the  North-West  Company,  it  was  so 
planned  as  to  require  little  expenditure.  Thompson  was  to  be 
accompanied  chiefly  by  free-traders,  i.e.  by  men  to  whom 
certain  quantities  of  goods  would  be  advanced  by  the  Com- 
pany. By  the  profits  of  this  trade  expenses  would  be  met. 
The  guide  and  interpreter  was  Rene  Jussaume  (a  man  of  very 
doubtful  character),  who  had  fallen  into  the  ways  of  the  West- 
ern Indians.  He  had  lived  for  years  among  the  Mandans,  and 
spoke  their  language.  Another  free-trader,  Hugh  McCracken, 
an  Irishman,  also  knew  the  Mandan  country,  while  several 
French  Canadians,  with  Brossman,  the  astronomer's  servant 
man,  made  up  the  company.  Each  of  the  traders  took  a  credit 
from  Mr.  McDonnell  of  from  forty  to  fifty  skins  in  goods. 
Ammunition,  tobacco,  and  trinkets,  to  pay  expenses,  were 
provided,  and  Thompson  was  supplied  with  two  horses,  and 
his  chief  trader,  Jussaume,  with  one.  The  men  had  their  own 


138  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

dogs  to  the  number  of  thirty,  and  these  drew  goods  on  small 
sleds.  Crossing  the  Assiniboine,  the  party  started  south- 
westward,  and  continued  their  Journey  for  thirty-three  days, 
with  the  thermometer  almost  always  below  zero  and  reaching 
at  times  36  deg.  below.  The  journey  was  a  most  dangerous 
and  trying  one  and  covered  280  miles.  Thompson  found  that 
some  Hudson's  Bay  traders  had  already  made  flying  visits  to 
the  Mandans.  On  his  return,  Thompson's  itinerary  was,  from 
the  Missouri  till  he  reached  the  angle  of  the  Souris  River, 
seventy  miles,  where  he  found  abundant  wood  and  shelter,  and 
then  to  the  south  end  of  Turtle  Mountain,  fourteen  miles. 
Leaving  Turtle  Mountain,  his  next  station  was  twenty-four 
miles  distant  at  a  point  on  the  Souris  where  an  outpost  of 
Assiniboine  House,  known  as  Ash  House,  had  been  established. 
Another  Journey  of  forty -five  miles  brought  the  expedition  back 
to  the  hospitable  shelter  of  Mr.  McDonnell  at  Stone  Indian 
House.  Thompson  now  calculated  the  position  of  this  com- 
fortable fort  and  found  it  to  be  49  deg.  41'  (nearly)  N.  latitude 
and  101  deg.  1'4"  (nearly)  W.  longitude. 

The  astronomer,  after  spending  a  few  weeks  in  making  up 
his  notes  and  surveys,  determined  to  go  eastward  and  under- 
take the  survey  of  the  Red  River.  On  February  26th,  1798, 
he  started  with  three  French  Canadians  and  an  Indian  guide. 
Six  dogs  drew  three  sleds  laden  with  baggage  and  provisions. 
The  company  soon  reached  the  sand  hills,  then  called  the 
Manitou  Hills,  from  some  supposed  supernatural  agency  in 
their  neighbourhood.  Sometimes  on  the  ice,  and  at  other  times 
on  the  north  shore  of  the  Assiniboine  to  avoid  the  bends  of  the 
river,  the  party  went,  experiencing  much  difficulty  from  the 
depth  of  the  snow.  At  length,  after  Journeying  ten  days  over 
the  distance  of  169  miles,  the  Junction  of  the  Assiniboine  and 
Red  River,  at  the  point  where  now  stands  the  city  of  Winnipeg, 
was  reached.  There  was  no  trading  post  here  at  the  time. 
It  seems  somewhat  surprising  that  what  became  the  chief 
trading  centre  of  the  company,  Fort  Garry,  during  the  first 
half  of  this  century  should,  up  to  the  end  of  the  former 
century,  not  have  been  taken  possession  of  by  any  of  the  three 
competing  fur  companies. 

Losing  no  time,  Thompson  began,  on  March  7th,  the  survey, 


THE   GREAT   EXPLORATION  139 

and  going  southward  over  an  unbroken  trail,  with  the  snow 
three  feet  deep,  reached  in  seven  days  Pembina  Post,  then 
under  the  charge  of  a  leading  French  trader  of  the  company, 
named  Charles  Chaboillez.  Wearied  with  a  journey  of  some 
sixty-four  miles,  which  had,  from  the  bad  road,  taken  seven 
days,  Thompson  enjoyed  the  kind  shelter  of  Pembina  House 
for  six  days.  This  house  was  near  the  forty -ninth  parallel  and 
was  one  of  the  especial  points  he  had  been  appointed  to  deter- 
mine. He  found  Pembina  House  to  be  in  latitude  48  deg. 
58'  24"  N.,  so  that  it  wras  by  a  very  short  distance  on  the 
south  side  of  the  boundary  line.  Thompson  marked  the 
boundary,  so  that  the  trading  post  might  be  removed,  when 
necessary,  to  the  north  side  of  the  line.  A  few  years  later,  the 
observation  taken  by  Thompson  was  confirmed  by  Major  Long 
on  his  expedition  of  1823,  but  the  final  settlement  of  where  the 
line  falls  was  not  made  till  the  time  of  the  boundary  com- 
mission of  1872. 

Pushing  southward  in  March,  the  astronomer  ascended  Red 
River  to  the  trading  post  known  as  Upper  Red  River,  near 
where  the  town  of  Grand  Forks,  North  Dakota,  stands  to-day. 
Here  he  found  J.  Baptiste  Cadot,  probably  the  son  of  the 
veteran  master  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  who  so  long  clung  to  the 
flag  of  the  Golden  Lilies. 

Thompson  now  determined  to  survey  what  had  been  an 
object  of  much  interest,  the  lake  which  was  the  source  of 
the  great  River  Mississippi.  To  do  this  had  been  laid  upon 
him  in  his  instructions  from  the  North- West  Company. 
Making  a  detour  from  Grand  Forks,  in  order  to  avoid  the  ice 
on  the  Red  Lake  River,  he  struck  the  upper  waters  of  that 
river,  and  followed  the  banks  until  he  reached  Red  Lake  in 
what  is  now  North -Eastern  Minnesota.  Leaving  this  lake,  he 
made  a  portage  of  six  miles  to  Turtle  Lake,  and  four  days  later 
reached  the  point  considered  by  him  to  be  the  source  of  the 
Mississippi.  Turtle  Lake,  at  the  time  of  the  treaty  of  1783, 
was  supposed  to  be  further  north  than  the  north-west  angle  of 
the  Lake  of  the  Woods.  This  arose,  Thompson  tells  us,  from 
the  voyageurs  counting  a  pipe  to  a  league,  at  the  end  of  which 
time  it  was  the  fur-traders'  custom  to  take  a  rest.  Each  pipe, 
that  is,  the  length  of  time  taken  to  smoke  a  pipe,  however,  was 


140  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

nearer  two  miles  than  three,  so  that  the  head  waters  of  the 
Mississippi  had  been  counted  128  miles  further  north  than 
Thompson  found  them  to  be.  It  is  to  be  noted,  however,  that 
the  Astronomer  Thompson  was  wrong  in  making  Turtle  Lake 
the  source  of  the  Mississippi.  The  accredited  source  of  the 
Mississippi  was  discovered,  as  we  shall  afterwards  see,  in  July, 
1832,  to  be  Lake  Itasca,  which  lies  about  half  a  degree  south- 
west of  Turtle  Lake. 

Thompson  next  visited  Red  Cedar  Lake,  in  the  direction  of 
Lake  Superior.  Here  he  found  a  North-West  trading  house, 
Upper  Red  Cedar  House,  under  the  command  of  a  partner, 
John  Sayer,  whose  half-blood  son  afterward  figured  in  Red 
River  history.  He  found  that  Sayer  and  his  men  passed  the 
winter  on  wild  rice  and  maple  sugar  as  their  only  food. 

Crossing  over  to  Sand  Lake  River,  Mr.  Thompson  found  a 
small  post  of  the  North-West  Company,  and,  descending  this 
stream,  came  to  Sand  Lake.  By  portage,  reaching  a  small 
stream,  a  tributary  of  St.  Louis  River,  he  soon  arrived  at 
that  river  itself,  with  its  rapids  and  dalles,  and  at  length 
reached  the  North-West  trading  post  near  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  where  it  joined  the  Fond  du  Lac. 

Having  come  to  Lake  Superior,  the  party  could  only  obtain 
a  dilapidated  northern  canoe,  but  with  care  it  brought  them, 
after  making  an  enormous  circuit  and  accomplishing  feats 
involving  great  daring  and  supreme  hardship,  along  the  north 
shore  of  the  lake  to  Grand  Portage.  On  hearing  his  report 
of  two  years'  work,  the  partners,  at  the  annual  meeting  at 
Grand  Portage,  found  they  had  made  no  mistake  in  their 
appointment,  and  gave  him  the  highest  praise. 

The  time  had  now  come,  after  the  union  of  the  North-West 
Company  and  the  X  Y  Company,  for  pushing  ahead  the  great 
work  in  their  hands  and  examining  the  vast  country  across  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  The  United  Company  in  1805  naturally 
took  up  what  had  been  planned  several  years  before,  and  sent 
David  Thompson  up  the  Saskatchewan  to  explore  the  Columbia 
River  and  examine  the  vast  "  sea  of  mountains  "  bordering  on 
the  Pacific  Ocean.  The  other  partner  chosen  was  Simon 
Fraser,  and  his  orders  were  to  go  up  the  Peace  River,  cross 
the  Rockies,  and  explore  the  region  from  its  northern  side. 


THE    GREAT   EXPLORATION  141 

We  shall  see  how  well  Fraser  did  his  part,  and  meanwhile  we 
may  follow  Thompson  in  his  journey. 

In  1806,  we  find  that  he  crossed  the  Rockies  and  built  in  the 
following  year  a  trading-house  for  the  North-West  Company 
on  the  Lower  Columbia.  Thompson  called  his  trading  post 
Kootenay  House,  and  indeed  his  persistent  use  of  the  term 
"  Kootenay  "  rather  than  "  Columbia/'  which  he  well  knew 
was  the  name  of  the  river,  is  somewhat  remarkable.  Coming 
over  the  pass  during  the  summer  he  returned  to  Kootenay 
House  and  wintered  there  in  1807-1808.  During  the  summer 
of  1808,  he  visited  possibly  Grand  Portage,  certainly  Fort 
Vermilion.  Fort  Vermilion,  a  short  distance  above  the  present 
Fort  Pitt,  was  well  down  the  north  branch  of  the  Saskatche- 
wan River,  and  on  his  way  to  it,  Thompson  would  pass  Fort 
Augustus,  a  short  distance  below  where  Edmonton  now  stands, 
as  well  as  Fort  George. 

He  left  Fort  Vermilion  in  September,  and  by  October  21st, 
the  Saskatchewan  being  frozen  over,  he  laid  up  canoes  for  the 
winter,  and  taking  horses,  crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains,  took 
to  canoes  on  the  Columbia  River  again,  and  on  November  10th 
arrived  at  his  fort  of  Kootenay  House,  where  he  wintered. 
On  this  Journey,  Thompson  discovered  Howse's  Pass,  which 
is  about  52  deg.  N.  latitude. 

In  1809,  Thompson  determined  on  extending  his  explorations 
southward  on  the  Columbia  River.  A  short  distance  south  of 
the  international  boundary  line,  he  built  a  post  in  September  of 
that  year.  He  seems  to  have  spent  the  winter  of  this  year  in 
trying  new  routes,  some  of  which  he  found  impracticable,  and 
can  hardly  be  said  to  have  wintered  at  any  particular  spot. 
In  his  pilgrimage,  he  went  up  the  Kootenay  River,  which  he 
called  McGillivray's  River,  in  honour  of  the  famous  partner, 
but  the  name  has  not  been  retained.  Hastening  to  his  post  of 
Kootenay  House,  he  rested  a  day,  and  travelling  by  means  of 
canoes  and  horses,  in  great  speed  came  eastward  and  reached 
Fort  Augustus,  eight  days  out  from  Kootenay,  June  22nd,  1810. 
From  this  point  he  went  eastward,  at  least  as  far  as  Rainy 
Lake,  leaving  his  "  little  family  "  with  his  sister-in-law,  a  Cree 
woman,  at  Winnipeg  River  House. 

Returning,  he  started  on  October  10th,  1810,  for  Athabasca. 


142  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

He  discovered  the  Athabasca  Pass  on  the  "  divide,"  and 
on  July  3rd,  1811,  started  to  descend  the  Columbia,  and 
did  so,  the  first  white  man,  as  far  as  Lewis  River,  from  which 
point  Lewis  and  Clark  in  1805,  having  come  over  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  had  preceded  him  to  the  sea.  Near  the  junction 
of  the  Spokane  River  with  the  Columbia,  he  erected  a  pole 
and  tied  to  it  a  half-sheet  of  paper,  claiming  the  country 
north  of  the  forks  as  British  territory.  This  notice  was 
seen  by  a  number  of  the  Astor  employes,  for  Ross  states 
that  he  observed  it  in  August,  with  a  British  flag  flying  upon 
it.  Thompson's  name  among  the  Indians  of  the  coast  was 
"  Koo-Koo-Suit." 

Ross  Cox  states  that  "  in  the  month  of  July,  1811,  Mr. 
David  Thompson,  Astronomer  to  the  North-West  Company,  of 
which  he  was  also  a  proprietor,  arrived  with  nine  men  in.  a 
canoe  at  Astoria  from  the  interior.  This  gentleman  came  on 
a  voyage  of  discovery  to  the  Columbia,  preparatory  to  the 
North-West  Company  forming  a  settlement  at  the  mouth  of 
the  river.  He  remained  at  Astoria  until  the  latter  end  of  July, 
when  he  took  his  departure  for  the  interior/* 

Thompson  was  thus  disappointed  on  finding  the  American 
company  installed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  before  him, 
but  he  re -ascended  the  river  and  founded  two  forts  on  its  banks 
at  advantageous  points. 

Thompson  left  the  western  country  with  his  Indian  wife 
and  children  soon  after  this,  and  in  Eastern  Canada,  in  1812-13, 
prepared  a  grand  map  of  the  country,  which  adorned  for  a 
number  of  years  the  banqueting -room  of  the  bourgeois  at 
Fort  William  and  is  now  in  the  Government  buildings  at 
Toronto. 

In  1814  he  definitely  left  the  upper  country,  and  was 
employed  by  the  Imperial  Government  in  surveying  a  part  of 
the  boundary  line  of  the  United  States  and  Canada.  He  also 
surveyed  the  water-courses  between  the  Ottawa  River  and 
Georgian  Bay.  He  lived  for  years  at  the  River  Raisin,  near 
Williamstown,  in  Upper  Canada,  and  was  very  poor.  At  the 
great  age  of  eighty-seven,  he  died  at  Longueil.  He  was  not 
appreciated  as  he  deserved.  His  energy,  scientific  know- 
ledge, experience,  and  successful  work  for  the  Company  for 


THE   GREAT   EXPLORATION  143 

sixteen  years  make  him  one  of  the  most  notable  men  of  the 
period. 

SIMON  FRASER,  FUR -TRADER  AND  EXPLORER. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  entrance  by  the  northern  access  to  the 
Pacific  slope  was  confided  to  Simon  Fraser,  and  we  may  well, 
after  considering  the  exploits  of  David  Thompson,  refer  to 
those  of  his  colleague  in  the  service. 

Simon  Fraser,  one  of  the  most  daring  of  the  fur-traders,  was 
the  son  of  a  Scottish  U.E.  Loyalist, l  who  was  captured  by  the 
Americans  at  Burgoyne's  surrender  and  who  died  in  prison. 
The  widowed  mother  took  her  infant  boy  to  Canada,  and  lived 
near  Cornwall.  After  going  to  school,  the  boy,  who  was  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  entered  the  North-West  Company  at 
the  age  of  sixteen  as  a  clerk,  and  early  became  a  bourgeois  of 
the  Company.  His  administrative  ability  led  to  his  being 
appointed  agent  at  Grand  Portage  in  1797.  A  few  years 
afterwards,  Fraser  was  sent  to  the  Athabasca  region,  which 
was  at  that  time  the  point  aimed  at  by  the  ambitious  and 
determined  young  Nor'-Westers.  By  way  of  Peace  River,  he 
undertook  to  make  his  journey  to  the  west  side  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  Leaving  the  bulk  of  his  command  at  the  Rocky 
Mountain  portage,  he  pushed  on  with  six  men,  and  reaching 
the  height  of  land,  crossed  to  the  lake,  which  he  called  McLeod's 
in  honour  of  his  prominent  partner,  Archibald  Norman 
McLeod.  Stationing  three  men  at  this  point,  Fraser  returned 
to  his  command  and  wintered  there. 

In  the  spring  of  1806  he  passed  through  the  mountains,  and 
came  upon  a  river,  which  he  called  Stuart  River.  John  Stuart, 
who  was  at  that  time  a  clerk,  was  for  thirty  years  afterwards 
identified  with  the  fur  trade.  Stuart  Lake,  in  British  Columbia, 
was  also  called  after  him.  On  the  Stuart  River,  Fraser  built  a 
post,  which,  in  honour  of  his  fatherland,  he  called  New 
Caledonia,  and  this  probably  led  to  this  great  region  on  the 
west  of  the  mountains  being  called  New  Caledonia.  Stuart 
was  left  in  charge  of  this  post,  and  Fraser  went  west  to  a 
lake,  which  since  that  time  has  been  called  Fraser  Lake.  He 
returned  to  winter  at  the  new  fort. 

1  The  United  Empire  Loyalists  were  those  British  patriots  who 
left  the  United  States  after  the  Revolution. 


144  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Fraser's  disposition  to  explore  and  his  success  thus  far  led 
the  Company  to  urge  their  confrere  to  push  on  and  descend 
the  great  River  Tacouche  Tesse,  down  which  Alexander 
Mackenzie  had  gone  for  some  distance,  and  which  was  sup- 
posed to  be  the  Columbia.  It  was  this  expedition  which 
created  Eraser's  i/ame.  The  orders  to  advance  had  been 
{brought  to  him  in  two  canoes  by  two  traders,  Jules  Maurice 
Quesnel  and  (Hugh)  Faries. 

Leaving  behind  Faries  with  two  men  in  the  new  fort,  Fraser, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Nechaco  or  Stuart  River,  where  afterward 
stood  Fort  George,  gathered  his  expedition,  and  was  ready  to 
depart  on  his  great,  we  may  well  call  it  terrific,  voyage,  down 
the  river  which  since  that  time  has  borne  his  name.  His 
company  consisted  of  Stuart,  Quesnel,  nineteen  voyageurs,  and 
two  Indians,  in  four  canoes.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  John 
Stuart,  who  was  Fraser's  lieutenant,  was  in  many  ways  the 
real  leader  of  the  expedition.  Having  been  educated  in 
engineering,  Stuart,  by  his  scientific  knowledge,  was  indispen- 
sable to  the  exploring  party. 

On  May  22nd  a  start  was  made  from  the  forks.  We 
have  in  Masson's  first  volume  preserved  to  us  Simon  Fraser's 
Journal  of  this  remarkable  voyage,  starting  from  the  Rockies 
down  the  river.  The  keynote  to  the  whole  expedition  is  given 
us  in  the  seventh  line  of  the  journal.  "  Having  proceeded 
about  eighteen  miles,  we  came  to  a  strong  rapid  which  we  ran 
down,  nearly  wrecking  one  of  our  canoes  against  a  precipice 
which  forms  the  right  bank  of  the  riyer."  A  succession  of 
rapids,  overhung  by  enormous  heights  of  perpendicular  rocks, 
made  it  almost  as  difficult  to  portage  as  it  would  have  been  to 
risk  the  passage  of  the  canoes  and  their  loads  down  the  boiling 
cauldron  of  the  river. 

Nothing  can  equal  the  interest  of  hearing  in  the  explorer's 
own  words  an  incident  or  two  of  the  journey.  On  the  first 
Wednesday  of  June  he  writes  :  ' '  Leaving  Mr.  Stuart  and  two 
men  at  the  lower  end  of  the  rapid  in  order  to  watch  the 
motions  of  the  natives,  I  returned  with  the  other  four  men  to 
the  camp.  Immediately  on  my  arrival  I  ordered  the  five  men 
out  of  the  crews  into  a  canoe  lightly  loaded,  and  the  canoe  was 
in  a  moment  under  way.  After  passing  the  first  cascade  she 


THE    GREAT   EXPLORATION  145 

lost  her  course  and  was  drawn  into  the  eddy,  whirled  about  for 
a  considerable  time,  seemingly  in  suspense  whether  to  sink  or 
swim,  the  men  having  no  power  over  her.  However,  she  took 
a  favourable  turn,  and  by  degrees  was  led  from  this  dangerous 
vortex  again  into  the  stream.  In  this  manner  she  continued, 
flying  from  one  danger  to  another,  until  the  last  cascade  but 
one,  where  in  spite  of  every  effort  the  whirlpools  forced  her 
against  a  low  projecting  rock.  Upon  this  the  men  debarked, 
saved  their  own  lives,  and  continued  to  save  the  property,  but 
the  greatest  difficulty  was  still  ahead,  and  to  continue  by  water 
would  be  the  way  to  certain  destruction. 

' '  During  this  distressing  scene,  we  were  on  the  shore  looking 
on  and  anxiously  concerned  ;  seeing  our  poor  fellows  once 
more  safe  afforded  us  as  much  satisfaction  as  to  themselves, 
and  we  hastened  to  their  assistance  ;  but  their  situation 
rendered  our  approach  perilous  and  difficult.  The  bank  was 
exceedingly  high  and  steep,  and  we  had  to  plunge  our  daggers 
at  intervals  into  the  ground  to  check  our  speed,  as  otherwise 
we  were  exposed  to  slide  into  the  river.  We  cut  steps  in  the 
declivity,  fastened  a  line  to  the  front  of  the  canoe,  with  which 
some  of  the  men  ascended  in  order  to  haul  it  up,  while  the 
others  supported  it  upon  their  arms.  In  this  manner  our 
situation  was  most  precarious  ;  our  lives  hung,  as  it  were,  upon 
a  thread,  as  the  failure  of  the  line,  or  a  false  step  of  one  of  the 
men,  might  have  hurled  the  whole  of  us  into  eternity.  How- 
ever, we  fortunately  cleared  the  bank  before  dark." 

Every  day  brought  its  dangers,  and  the  progress  was  very 
slow.  Finding  the  navigation  impossible,  on  the  26th  Fraser 
says  :  "  As  for  the  road  by  land,  we  could  scarcely  make  our 
way  with  even  only  our  guns.  I  have  been  for  a  long  period 
among  the  Rocky  Mountains,  but  have  never  seen  anything 
like  this  country.  It  is  so  wild  that  I  cannot  find  words  to 
describe  our  situation  at  times.  We  had  to  pass  where  no 
human  being  should  venture  ;  yet  in  those  places  there  is  a 
regular  footpath  impressed,  or  rather  indented  upon  the  very 
rocks  by  frequent  travelling.  Besides  this,  steps  which  are 
formed  like  a  ladder  by  poles  hanging  to  one  another,  crossed 
at  certain  distances  with  twigs,  the  whole  suspended  from  the 
top,  furnish  a  safe  and  convenient  passage  to  the  natives  down 
L 


146  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

these  precipices  ;  but  we,  who  had  not  had  the  advantage  of 
their  education  and  experience,  were  often  in  imminent  danger, 
when  obliged  to  follow  their  example." 

On  the  right,  as  the  party  proceeded  along  the  river,  a 
considerable  stream  emptied  in,  to  which  they  gave  the  name 
Shaw's  River,  from  one  of  the  principal  wintering  partners. 

Some  distance  down,  a  great  river  poured  in  from  the  left, 
making  notable  forks.  Thinking  that  likely  the  other  expedi- 
tion by  way  of  the  Saskatchewan  might  be  on  the  upper  waters 
of  that  river  at  the  very  time,  they  called  it  Thompson  River, 
after  the  worthy  astronomer,  and  it  has  retained  the  name 
ever  since. 

But  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  think  that  the  difficulties  were 
passed  when  the  forks  of  the  Thompson  River  were  left  behind. 
Travellers  on  the  Canadian -Pacific  Railway  of  to-day  will 
remember  the  great  gorge  of  the  Fraser,  and  how  the  railway 
going  at  dizzy  heights,  and  on  strong  overhanging  ledges  of 
rock,  still  fills  the  heart  with  fear. 

On  July  2nd  the  party  reached  an  arm  of  the  sea  and 
saw  the  tide  ebbing  and  flowing,  showing  them  they  were 
near  the  ocean.  They,  however,  found  the  Indians  at  this  part 
very  troublesome.  Fraser  was  compelled  to  follow  the  native 
custom, ' '  and  pretended  to  be  in  a  violent  passion,  spoke  loud, 
with  vehement  gestures,  exactly  in  their  own  way,  and  thus 
peace  and  tranquillity  were  instantly  restored/' 

The  explorer  was,  however,  greatly  disappointed  that  he 
had  been  prevented  by  the  turbulence  of  the  natives  from 
going  down  the  arm  of  the  sea  and  looking  out  upon  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  He  wished  to  take  observations  on  the  sea- 
coast.  However,  he  got  the  latitude,  and  knowing  that  the 
Columbia  is  45  deg.  20'  N.,  he  was  able  to  declare  that  the 
river  he  had  followed  was  not  the  Columbia.  How  difficult  it 
is  to  distinguish  small  from  great  actions  !  Here  was  a  man 
making  fame  for  all  time,  and  the  idea  of  the  greatness  of  his 
work  had  not  dawned  upon  him. 

A  short  delay,  and  the  party  turned  northward  on  July  4th, 
and  with  many  hardships  made  their  way  up  the  river.  On 
their  ascent  few  things  of  note  happened,  the  only  notable 
event  being  the  recognition  of  the  fame  of  the  second  bourgeois, 


THE    GREAT   EXPLORATION  147 

Jules  Quesnel,  by  giving  his  name  to  a  river  flowing  into  the 
Fraser  River  from  the  east.  The  name  is  still  retained,  and  is 
also  given  to  the  lake  which  marks  the  enlargement  of  the 
river.  On  August  6th,  the  party  rejoined  Faries  and  his  men 
in  the  fort  on  Stuart  Lake.  The  descent  occupied  forty -two 
days,  and,  as  explorers  have  often  found  in  such  rivers  as  the 
Fraser,  the  ascent  took  less  time  than  the  descent.  In  this 
case,  their  upward  journey  was  but  of  thirty-three  days. 

Fraser  returned  to  the  east  in  the  next  year  and  is  found  in 
1811  in  charge  of  the  Red  River  district,  two  years  afterward 
in  command  on  the  Mackenzie  River,  and  at  Fort  William  on 
Lake  Superior,  in  1816,  when  the  Fort  was  taken  by  Lord 
Selkirk.  After  retiring,  he  lived  at  St.  Andrews  on  the  Ottawa 
and  died  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-six,  having  been  known 
as  one  of  the  most  noted  and  energetic  fur-traders  in  the  history 
of  the  companies. 

Thus  we  have  seen  the  way  in  which  these  two  kings  of 
adventure — Fraser  and  Thompson — a  few  years  after  Sir 
Alexander  Mackenzie,  succeeded  amid  extraordinary  hardships 
in  crossing  to  the  Western  Sea.  The  record  of  the  five  trans- 
continental expeditions  of  these  early  times  is  as  follows  : — 

(1)  Alexander   Mackenzie,    by   the   Tacouche   Tease   and 
Bellacoola  River,  1793. 

(2)  Lewis   and   Clark,    the   American    explorers,   by   the 
Columbia  River,  1805. 

(3)  Simon  Fraser  by  the  river  that  bears  his  name,  formerly 
the  Tacouche  Tesse,  1808. 

(4)  David  Thompson,  by  the  Columbia  River,  1811. 

(5)  The  overland  party  of  Astorians,  by  the  Columbia,  1811. 
These  expeditions  shed  a  flood  of  glory  on  the  Anglo-Saxon 

name  and  fame. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

THE   X   Y   COMPANY. 

"  Le  Marquis  "  Simon  McTavish  unpopular — Alexander  Mackenzie 
his  rival — Enormous  activity  of  the  "  Potties  " — Why  called  X  Y 
— Five  rival  posts  at  Souris — Sir  Alexander,  the  silent  partner — 
Old  Lion  of  Montreal  roused — "  Posts  of  the  King  " — Schooner 
sent  to  Hudson  Bay — Nor' -Westers  erect  two  posts  on  Hudson 
Bay — Supreme  folly — Old  and  new  Nor' -Westers  unite — List 
of  partners. 

FOB  some  years  the  Montreal  fur  companies,  in  their  com- 
binations and  readjustments,  had  all  the  variety  of  the  kaleido- 
scope. Agreements  were  made  for  a  term  of  years,  and  when 
these  had  expired  new  leagues  were  formed,  and  in  every  case 
dissatisfied  members  went  into  opposition  and  kept  up  the  heat 
and  competition  without  which  it  is  probable  the  fur  trade 
would  have  lost,  to  those  engaged  in  it,  many  of  its  charms. 

In  1795  several  partners  had  retired  from  the  North- West 
Company  and  thrown  in  their  lot  with  the  famous  firm  that 
we  have  seen  was  always  inclined  to  follow  its  own  course — 
Messrs.  Forsyth,  Richardson  and  Co.  For  a  number  of  years 
this  independent  Montreal  firm  had  maintained  a  trade  in  the 
districts  about  Lake  Superior.  The  cause  of  this  disruption 
in  the  Company  was  the  unpopularity,  among  the  wintering 
partners  especially,  of  the  strong-willed  and  domineering  chief 
in  Montreal — Simon  McTavish.  One  set  of  bourgeois  spoke  of 
him  derisively  as  "  Le  Premier,"  while  others  with  mock  defer- 
ence called  him  "  Le  Marquis."  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie 
had  been  himself  a  partner,  had  resided  in  the  Far  West, 
and  he  was  regarded  by  all  the  traders  in  the  "  upper  country  " 
as  their  friend  and  advocate.  Although  the  discontent  was 
very  great  when  the  secession  took  place,  yet  the  mere  bonds 
of  self-interest  kept  many  within  the  old  Company.  Alexander 

148 


THE   X    Y   COMPANY  149 

Mackenzie  most  unwillingly  consented  to  remain  in  the  old 
Company,  but  only  for  three  years,  reserving  to  himself  the 
right  to  retire  at  the  end  of  that  time. 

Notwithstanding  their  disappointment,  and  possibly  buoyed 
up  with  the  hope  of  having  the  assistance  of  then-  former 
friend  at  a  later  period,  the  members  of  the  X  Y  Company  girt 
themselves  about  for  the  new  enterprise  in  the  next  year,  so 
that  the  usual  date  of  this  Company  is  from  the  year  1795. 
Whether  it  was  the  circumstance  of  its  origination  in  dislike  of 
"  Le  Premier/'  or  whether  the  partners  felt  the  need  of  greater 
activity  on  account  of  their  being  weaker,  it  must  be  confessed 
that  a  new  era  now  came  to  the  fur  trade,  and  the  opposition 
was  carried  on  with  a  warmth  much  greater  than  had  ever 
been  known  among  the  old  companies.  A  casual  observer  can 
hardly  help  feeling  that  while  not  a  member  of  the  new  Com- 
pany at  this  date,  Alexander  Mackenzie  was  probably  its  active 
promoter  behind  the  scenes. 

The  new  opposition  developed  without  delay.  Striking  at 
all  the  salient  points,  the  new  Company  in  1797  erected  its 
trading  house  at  Grand  Portage,  somewhat  more  than  half-a- 
mile  from  the  North-West  trading  house  and  on  the  other 
side  of  the  small  stream  that  there  falls  into  the  Bay.  A  few 
years  after,  when  the  North- West  Company  moved  to  Kaminis- 
tiquia,  the  X  Y  also  erected  a  building  within  a  mile  of  the 
new  fort.  The  new  Company  was  at  some  time  in  its  history 
known  as  the  New  North-West  Company,  but  was  more 
commonly  called  the  X  Y  Company.  The  origin  of  this 
name  is  accounted  for  as  follows.  On  the  bales  which  were 
made  up  for  transport,  it  was  the  custom  to  mark  the  North  - 
West  Company's  initials  N.W.  When  the  new  Company, 
which  was  an  offshoot  of  the  old,  wished  to  mark  their  bales, 
they  simply  employed  the  next  letters  of  the  alphabet,  X  Y. 
They  are  accordingly  not  contractions,  and  should  not  be 
written  as  such.  It  was  the  habit  of  members  of  the  older 
Company  to  express  their  contempt  for  the  secessionists  by 
calling  them  the  "  Little  Company  "  or  "  the  Little  Society." 
In  the  Athabasca  country  the  rebellious  traders  were  called  by 
their  opponents  "  Potties,"  probably  a  corruption  of  "  Les 
Petits,"  meaning  members  of  "  La  Petite  Compagnie."  When 


150  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

these  names  were  used  by  the  French  Canadian  voyageurs, 
the  X  Y  Company  was  referred  to. 

However  disrespectfully  they  may  have  been  addressed,  the 
traders  of  the  new  Company  caused  great  anxiety  both  to  the 
North-West  Company  and  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
though  they  regarded  themselves  chiefly  as  rivals  of  the 
former.  Pushing  out  into  the  country  nearest  their  base  of 
supplies  on  Lake  Superior,  they  took  hold  of  the  Red  River 
and  Assiniboine  region,  as  well  as  of  the  Red  Lake  country 
immediately  south  of  and  connected  with  it.  The  point  where 
the  Souris  empties  into  the  Assiniboine  was  occupied  in  the 
same  year  (1798)  by  the  X  Y  Company.  It  had  been  a 
favourite  resort  for  all  classes  of  fur-traders,  there  having  been 
no  less  than  five  opposing  trading  houses  at  this  point  four 
years  before.  No  doubt  the  presence  of  the  free-trading 
element  such  as  McCracken  and  Jussaume,  whom  we  find  in 
the  Souris  region  thus  early,  made  it  easier  for  smaller  con- 
cerns to  carry  on  a  kind  of  business  in  which  the  great  North- 
West  Company  would  not  care  to  be  engaged. 

Meanwhile  dissension  prevailed  in  the  North-West  Company. 
The  smouldering  feeling  of  dislike  between  "  Le  Marquis  "  and 
Alexander  Mackenzie  and  the  other  fur-trading  magnates  broke 
out  into  a  flame.  As  ex-Governor  Masson  says  :  "  These  three 
years  were  an  uninterrupted  succession  of  troubles,  differences, 
and  misunderstandings  between  these  two  opposing  leaders." 
At  the  great  gathering  at  the  Grand  Portage  in  1799,  Alex- 
ander Mackenzie  warned  the  partners  that  he  was  about  to 
quit  the  Company,  and  though  the  winterers  begged  him  not 
to  carry  out  his  threat,  yet  he  remained  inexorable.  The  dis- 
cussion reported  to  Mr.  McTavish  was  very  displeasing  to  him, 
and  in  the  following  year  his  usual  letter  to  the  gathering 
written  from  Montreal  was  curt  and  showed  much  feeling,  he 
saying,  "  I  feel  hurt  at  the  distrust  and  want  of  confidence  that 
appeared  throughout  all  your  deliberations  last  season." 

Alexander  Mackenzie,  immediately  after  the  scene  at  Grand 
Portage,  crossed  over  to  England,  published  his  "  Voyages," 
and  received  his  title.  He  then  returned  in  1801  to  Canada. 
Flushed  with  the  thought  of  his  successes,  he  threw  himself 
with  great  energy  into  the  affairs  of  the  opposing  Company,  the 


THE   X    Y    COMPANY  151 

X  Y,  or,  as  it  was  also  now  called,  that  of  "  Sir  Alexander  Mac- 
kenzie and  Company."  If  the  competition  had  been  warm 
before,  it  now  rose  to  fever  heat.  The  brigandage  had  scarcely 
any  limit ;  combats  of  clerk  with  clerk,  trapper  with  trapper, 
voyageur  with  voyageur,  were  common.  Strong  drink  be- 
came, as  never  before  or  since,  a  chief  instrument  of  the  rival 
companies  in  dealing  with  the  Indians. 

A  North-West  Company  trader,  writing  from  Pembina, 
gays  :  "  Indians  daily  coming  in  by  small  parties  ;  nearly  100 
men  here.  I  gave  them  fifteen  kegs  of  mixed  liquor,  and  the 
X  Y  gave  in  proportion  ;  all  drinking  ;  I  quarrelled  with  Little 
Shell,  and  dragged  him  out  of  the  fort  by  the  hair.  Indians 
very  troublesome,  threatening  to  level  my  fort  to  the  ground, 
and  their  chief  making  mischief.  I  had  two  narrow  escapes 
from  being  stabbed  by  him  ;  once  in  the  hall  and  soon  after- 
wards in  the  shop." 

Such  were  the  troubles  of  competition  between  the  Com- 
panies. The  new  Company  made  a  determined  effort  to 
compete  also  in  the  far-distant  Peace  River  district.  In 
October  of  tliis  year  two  prominent  partners  of  the  new  Com- 
pany arrived  with  their  following  at  the  Peace  River.  One  of 
these,  Pierre  de  Rocheblave,  was  of  a  distinguished  family, 
being  the  nephew  of  a  French  officer  who  had  fought  on  the 
Monongahela  against  Braddock.  The  other  was  James  Leith, 
who  also  became  a  prominent  fur-trader  in  later  days. 

Illustrating  the  keenness  of  the  trade  conflict,  John 
McDonald,  of  Garth,  also  says  in  1798,  writing  from  the  Upper 
Saskatchewan,  "  We  had  here  (Fort  Augustus),  besides  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  whose  fort  was  within  a  musket 
shot  of  ours,  the  opposition  on  the  other  side  of  the  new 
concern  I  have  already  mentioned,  which  had  assumed  a 
powerful  shape  under  the  name  of  the  X  Y  Company,  at  the 
head  of  which  was  the  late  John  Ogilyy  in  Montreal,  and  at 
this  establishment  Mr.  King,  an  old  south  trader  in  his  prime 
and  pride  as  the  first  among  bullies." 

Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie  did  wonders  in  the  management  of 
his  Company,  but  the  old  lion  at  Montreal,  from  his  mountain 
chateau,  showed  a  remarkable  determination,  and  provided  as 
he  was  with  great  wealth,  he  resolved  to  overcome  at  any  price 


152  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

the  opposition  which,  he  also  contemptuously  called  the ' '  Little 
Company."  In  1802,  he,  with  the  skill  of  a  great  general,  re- 
constructed his  Company.  He  formed  a  combination  which 
was  to  continue  for  twenty  years.  Into  this  he  succeeded  in 
introducing  a  certain  amount  of  new  blood ;  those  clerks 
who  had  shown  ability  were  promoted  to  the  position  of 
bourgeois  or  partners.  By  this  progressive  and  statesmanlike 
policy,  notwithstanding  the  energy  of  the  X  Y  Company, 
the  old  Company  showed  all  the  vigour  and  enthusiasm  cf 
youth. 

An  employe  of  the  North-West  Company,  Livingston,  had 
a  few  years  before  established  a  post  on  Slave  Lake.  Animated 
with  the  new  spirit  of  his  superiors,  he  went  further  north  still 
and  made  a  discovery  of  silver,  but  on  undertaking  to  open 
trade  communications  with  the  Eskimos,  the  trader  unfortu- 
nately lost  his  life. 

Other  expeditions  were  sent  to  the  Missouri  and  to  the 
sources  of  the  South  Saskatchewan  ;  it  is  even  said  that  in  this 
direction  a  post  was  established  among  the  fierce  tribes  of  the 
Bow  River,  west  of  the  present  town  of  Calgary. 

Looking  out  for  other  avenues  for  the  wonderful  store  of 
energy  in  the  North-West  Company,  the  partners  took  into 
consideration  the  development  of  the  vast  fisheries  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  and  the  interior.  Simon  McTavish  rented  the  old 
posts  of  the  King — meaning  by  these  Tadoussac,  Chicoutimi, 
Assuapmousoin,  and  Mistassini,  reached  by  way  of  the 
Saguenay  ;  and  He  Jeremie,  Godbout,  Mingan,  Masquaro,  and 
several  others  along  the  north  shore  of  the  Lower  St.  Lawrence 
or  the  Gulf.  The  annual  rent  paid  for  the  King's  posts  was 
1000Z. 

But  the  greatest  flight  of  the  old  fur  king's  ambition  was  to 
carry  his  operations  into  the  forbidden  country  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  itself.  In  furtherance  of  this  policy,  in  1803  the  North- 
West  Company  sent  a  schooner  of  150  tons  to  the  shores  of 
Hudson  Bay  to  trade,  and  along  with  this  an  expedition  was 
sent  by  land  by  way  of  St.  John  and  Mistassini  to  co-operate 
in  establishing  stations  on  the  Bay.  By  this  movement  two 
posts  were  founded,  one  at  Charlton  Island  and  the  other  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Moose  River.  Many  of  the  partners  were 


THE   X    Y    COMPANY  153 

not  in  favour  of  these  expeditions  planned  by  the  strong-headed 
old  dictator,  and  the  venture  proved  a  financial  loss.  Simon 
McTavish,  though  comparatively  a  young  man,  now  thought 
of  retiring,  and  purchased  the  seignory  of  Terrebonne,  pro- 
posing there  to  lead  a  life  of  luxury  and  ease,  but  a  stronger 
enemy  than  either  the  X  Y  or  Hudson's  Bay  Company  came 
to  break  up  his  plans.  Death  summoned  him  away  in  July, 
1804. 

The  death  of  Simon  McTavish  removed  all  obstacles  to 
union  between  the  old  and  new  North-West  Companies,  and 
propositions  were  soon  made  to  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie,  and 
his  friends,  which  resulted  in  a  union  of  the  two  Companies. 
We  are  fortunate  in  having  preserved  to  us  the  agreement  by 
which  the  two  Companies — old  and  new  North-West  Com- 
panies— were  united.  The  partners  of  the  old  Company  were 
given  three-quarters  of  the  stock  and  those  of  the  new  one- 
quarter.  The  provisions  of  the  agreement  are  numerous,  but 
chiefly  deal  with  necessary  administration.  One  important 
clause  is  to  the  effect  that  no  business  other  than  the  fur  trade, 
or  what  is  necessarily  depending  thereon,  shall  be  followed  by 
the  Company.  No  partner  of  the  new  concern  is  to  be  allowed 
to  have  any  private  interests  at  the  posts  outside  those  of  the 
Company.  By  one  clause  the  new  North-West  Company  is 
protected  from  any  expense  that  might  arise  from  Simon 
McTavish's  immense  venture  on  the  Hudson  Bay.  It  may 
be  interesting  to  give  the  names  of  the  partners  of  the  two 
Companies,  those  who  were  not  present,  from  being  mostly  in 
the  interior  and  whose  names  were  signed  by  those  having 
powers  of  attorney  from  them,  being  marked  Att. 


THE   NORTH-WEST  OR  X  Y  COMPANY. 

Alex.  Mackenzie.  Thomas  Forsyth,  Att. 

Thomas  Forsyth,  Att.  Late   Leith,   Jameson   &   Co.    (by 

John  Richardson.  Trustees). 

John  Inglis,  Att.  John  Ogilvie. 

James  Forsyth,  Att.  P.  de  Rocheblane,  Att. 

John  Mure,  Att.  Alex.  McKenzie,  Att.  (2). 

John  Forsyth.  John  Macdonald,  Att. 

Alex.  Ellice,  Att.  James  Leith,  Att. 

John  Haldane,  Att.  John  Wills,  Att. 


154  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

OLD   NOBTH-WEST  COMPANY. 

John  Finlay,  Att.  Wm.  Hallowell. 

Duncan  Cameron,  Att.  Rod.  McKenzie. 

James  Hughes,  Att.  Angus  Shaw,  Att. 

Alex.  McKay,  Att.  Dl.  McKenzie,  Att. 

Hugh  McGillis,  Att.  Wm.  McKay,  Att. 

Alex.  Henry,  Jr.,  Att.  John  McDonald,  Att. 

John  McGillivray,  Att.  Donald  McTavish,  Att. 

James  McKenzie,  Att.  John  McDonnell,  Att. 

Simon  Fraser,  Att.  Arch.  N.  McLeod,  Att. 

John  D.  Campbell,  Att.  Alex.  McDougall,  Att. 

D.  Thompson,  Att.  Chas.  Chaboillez,  Att. 

John  Thompson,  Att.  John  Sayer,  Att. 

John  Gregory.  Peter  Grant,  Att. 

Wm.  McGillivray.  Alex.  Fraser,  Att. 

Duncan  McGillivray,  Att.  ^Eneas  Cameron,  Att. 

Anyone  acquainted  in  the  slightest  degree  with  the  early 
history  of  Canada  will  see  in  these  lists  the  names  of  legislative 
councillors,  members  of  Assembly,  leaders  in  society,  as  well 
as  of  those  who,  in  the  twenty  years  following  the  signing  of 
this  agreement,  by  deeds  of  daring,  exploration,  and  discovery, 
made  the  name  of  the  North-West  Company  illustrious.  These 
names  represent  likewise  those  who  carried  on  that  wearisome 
and  disastrous  conflict  with  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  which 
in  time  would  have  ruined  both  Companies  but  for  the  happy 
union  which  took  place,  when  the  resources  of  each  were  well- 
nigh  exhausted. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

THE  LORDS  OF  THE  LAKES  AND  FORESTS. — I. 

New  route  to  Kaministiquia — Vivid  sketch  of  Fort  William — "  Can- 
tine  Salope  " — Lively  Christmas  week — The  feasting  partners — 
Ex -Governor  Masson's  good  work — Four  great  Mackenzies — A 
literary  bourgeois — Three  handsome  demoiselles—"  The  man  in  the 
moon  " — Story  of  "  Bras  Croche  " — Around  Cape  Horn — Astoria 
taken  over — A  hot-headed  trader — Sad  case  of  "Little  Labrie" 
—Punch  on  New  Year's  Day— The  heart  of  a  "  Vacher." 

THE  union  of  the  opposing  companies  from  Montreal  led  to  a 
great  development  of  trade,  and,  as  we  have  already  seen,  to 
important  schemes  of  exploration. 

Roderick  McKenzie,  the  cousin  of  Sir  Alexander,  in  coming 
down  from  Rainy  Lake  to  Grand  Portage,  heard  of  a  new  route 
to  Kaministiquia.  We  have  already  seen  that  Umfreville  had 
found  out  a  circuitous  passage  from  Nepigon  to  Winnipeg 
River,  but  this  had  been  considered  impracticable  by  the  fur- 
traders. 

Accordingly,  when  the  treaty  of  amity  and  commerce  made 
it  certain  that  Grand  Portage  had  to  be  given  up,  it  was 
regarded  as  a  great  matter  when  the  route  to  Kaministi- 
quia became  known.  This  was  discovered  by  Mr.  Roderick 
McKenzie  quite  by  accident.  When  coming,  in  1797,  to 
Canada  on  leave  of  absence,  this  trader  was  told  by  an  Indian 
family  near  Rainy  Lake  that  a  little  farther  north  there  was 
a  good  route  for  large  canoes,  which  was  formerly  used  by  the 
whites  in  their  trading  expeditions.  Taking  an  Indian  with 
him,  McKenzie  followed  this  course,  which  brought  him  out  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Kaministiquia.  This  proved  to  be  the  old 
French  route,  for  all  along  it  traces  were  found  of  their  former 
establishments.  Strange  that  a  route  at  one  time  so  well 
known  should  be  completely  forgotten  in  forty  years. 

155 


156  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

In  the  year  1800  the  North- West  Company  built  a  fort,  called 
the  New  Fort,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kaministiquia,  and,  aban- 
doning Grand  Portage,  moved  their  headquarters  to  this  point 
in  1803.  In  the  year  after  the  union  of  the  North- West  and 
X  Y  Companies  the  name  Fort  William  was  given  to  this  estab- 
lishment, in  honour  of  the  Hon.  William  McGillivray,  who  had 
become  the  person  of  greatest  distinction  in  the  united  North- 
West  Company. 

As  giving  us  a  glimpse  of  the  life  of  ' '  the  lords  of  the  lakes 
and  forests/'  which  was  led  at  Fort  William,  we  have  a  good 
sketch  written  by  a  trader,  Gabriel  Franchere,  who  was  a 
French  Canadian  of  respectable  family  and  began  life  in  a 
business  place  in  Montreal.  At  this  stage,  says  a  local  writer, 
"  the  fur  trade  was  at  its  apogee,"  and  Franchere  was  engaged 
by  the  Astor  Company  and  went  to  Astoria.  Returning  over 
the  mountains,  he  passed  Fort  William.  His  book,  written  in 
French,  has  been  translated  into  English,  and  is  creditable 
to  the  writer,  who  died  as  late  as  1856  in  St.  Paul,  Minnesota. 

Franchere  says  of  Fort  William,  rather  inaccurately,  that 
it  was  built  in  1805.  This  lively  writer  was  much  impressed 
by  the  trade  carried  on  at  this  point,  and  gives  the  following 
vivid  description  : — 

* '  Fort  William  has  really  the  appearance  of  a  fort  from  the 
palisade  fifteen  feet  high,  and  also  that  of  a  pretty  village  from 
the  number  of  buildings  it  encloses.  In  the  middle  of  a 
spacious  square  stands  a  large  building,  elegantly  built,  though 
of  wood,  the  middle  door  of  which  is  raised  five  feet  above  the 
ground  plot,  and  in  the  front  of  which  runs  a  long  gallery. 
In  the  centre  of  this  building  is  a  room  about  sixty  feet  long 
and  thirty  wide,  decorated  with  several  paintings,  and  some 
portraits  in  crayon  of  a  number  of  the  partners  of  the  Com- 
pany. It  is  in  this  room  that  the  agents,  the  clerks,  and  the 
interpreters  take  their  meals  at  different  tables.  At  each 
extremity  of  the  room  are  two  small  apartments  for  the 
partners/' 

' '  The  back  part  of  the  house  is  occupied  by  the  kitchen  and 
sleeping  apartments  of  the  domestics.  On  each  side  of  this 
building  there  is  another  of  the  same  size,  but  lower  ;  these  are 
divided  lengthwise  by  a  corridor,  and  contain  each  twelve 


THE  LORDS  OF  THE  LAKES  AND  FORESTS    157 

pretty  sleeping-rooms.  One  of  these  houses  is  intended  for  the 
partners,  the  other  for  the  clerks. 

"  On  the  east  side  of  the  Fort  there  is  another  house  intended 
for  the  same  purpose,  and  a  large  building  in  which  furs  are 
examined  and  where  they  are  put  up  in  tight  bales  by  means 
of  a  press.  Behind,  and  still  on  the  same  side,  are  found  the 
lodges  of  the  guides,  another  building  for  furs,  and  a  powder 
magazine.  This  last  building  is  of  grey  stone,  and  roofed  in 
with  tin.  In  the  corner  stands  a  kind  of  bastion  or  point  of 
observation. 

"  On  the  west  side  is  seen  a  range  of  buildings,  some  of  which 
serve  for  stores  and  others  for  shops.  There  is  one  for  dressing 
out  the  employes  ;  one  for  fitting  out  canoes  ;  one  in  which 
merchandise  is  retailed  ;  another  where  strong  drink,  bread, 
lard,  butter,  and  cheese  are  sold,  and  where  refreshments  are 
given  out  to  arriving  voyageurs.  This  refreshment  consists  of 
a  white  loaf,  a  half  pound  of  butter,  and  a  quart  of  rum.  The 
voyageurs  give  to  this  liquor  store  the  name  '  Cantine  Salope/ 

"  Behind  is  found  still  another  row  of  buildings,  one  of  which 
is  used  as  an  office  or  counting-house,  a  pretty  square  building 
well  lighted  ;  another  serves  as  a  store  ;  and  a  third  as  a  prison. 
The  voyageurs  give  to  the  last  the  name  '  Pot  au  beurre.'  At 
the  south-east  corner  is  a  stone  shed  roofed  with  tin.  Farther 
back  are  the  workshops  of  the  carpenters,  tinsmiths,  black- 
smiths, and  their  spacious  courts  or  sheds  for  sheltering  the 
canoes,  repairing  them,  and  constructing  new  ones. 

"  Near  the  gate  of  the  Fort,  which  is  to  the  south,  are  the 
dwelling-houses  of  the  surgeon  and  resident  clerk.  Over  the 
entrance  gate  a  kind  of  guard-house  has  been  built.  As  the 
river  is  deep  enough  at  its  entrance,  the  Company  has  had 
quays  built  along  the  Fort  as  a  landing-place  for  the  schooners 
kept  on  Lake  Superior  for  transporting  peltries,  merchandise, 
and  provisions  from  Fort  William  to  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  and  vice 
versa. 

"  There  are  also  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  a  number  of 
houses,  all  inhabited  by  old  FreDch-Canadian  voyageurs,  worn 
out  in  the  service  of  the  North-West  Company,  without  having 
become  richer  by  it.  Fort  William  is  the  principal  factory 
of  the  North -West  Company  in  the  interior  and  a  general 


158  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

rendezvous  of  the  partners.  The  agents  of  Montreal  and  the 
proprietors  wintering  in  the  north  nearly  all  assemble  here 
every  summer  and  receive  the  returns,  form  expeditions,  and 
discuss  the  interests  of  their  commerce. 

' '  The  employes  wintering  in  the  north  spend  also  a  portion  of 
the  summer  at  Fort  William.  They  form  a  great  encampment 
to  the  west,  outside  the  palisades.  Those  who  are  only  engaged 
at  Montreal  to  go  to  Fort  William  or  to  Rainy  Lake,  and  who 
do  not  winter  in  the  North,  occupy  another  space  on  the  east 
side.  The  former  give  to  the  latter  the  name  '  mangeurs  de 
lard/  A  remarkable  difference  is  observed  between  the  two 
camps,  which  are  composed  of  three  or  four  hundred  men  each. 
That  of  the  '  mangeurs  de  lard  '  is  always  very  dirty  and  that 
of  the  winterers  neat  and  clean." 

But  the  fur- traders  were  by  no  means  merely  business  men. 
Perhaps  never  were  there  assemblages  of  men  who  feasted  more 
heartily  when  the  work  was  done.  The  Christmas  week  was  a 
holiday,  and  sometimes  the  jollity  went  to  a  considerable 
excess,  which  was  entirely  to  be  expected  when  the  hard  life  of 
the  voyage  was  taken  into  consideration.  Whether  at  Fort 
William,  or  in  the  North-West  Company's  house  in  St.  Gabriel 
Street,  Montreal,  or  in  later  day  at  Lachine,  the  festive  gather- 
ings of  the  Nor '-Westers  were  characterized  by  extravagance 
and  often  by  hilarious  mirth.  The  luxuries  of  the  East  and 
West  were  gathered  for  these  occasions,  and  offerings  to 
Bacchus  were  neither  of  poor  quality  nor  limited  in  extent. 
With  Scotch  story  and  Jacobite  song,  intermingled  with  "  La 
Claire  Fontaine  "  or  "  Malbrouck  s'en  va,"  those  lively  songs  of 
French  Canada,  the  hours  of  evening  and  night  passed  merrily 
away. 

At  times  when  they  had  been  feasting  long  into  the  morning, 
the  traders  and  clerks  would  sit  down  upon  the  feast-room 
floor,  when  one  would  take  the  tongs,  another  the  shovel, 
another  the  poker,  and  so  on.  They  would  arrange  themselves 
in  regular  order,  as  in  a  boat,  and,  vigorously  rowing,  sing  a 
song  of  the  voyage  ;  and  loud  and  long  till  the  early  streaks  of 
the  east  were  seen  would  the  rout  continue.  When  the 
merriment  reached  such  a  height  as  this,  ceremony  was 
relaxed,  and  voyageurs,  servants,  and  atteijdaqts  were 


THE  LORDS  OF  THE  LAKES  AND  FORESTS    159 

admitted  to  witness  the  wild  carouse  of  the  wine-heated 
partners. 

We  are  fortunate  in  having  the  daily  life  of  the  fur-traders 
from  the  Lower  St.  Lawrence  to  the  very  shores  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean  pictured  for  us  by  the  partners  in  the  '4  Journals  "  they 
have  left  behind  them.  Just  as  the  daily  records  of  the  monks 
and  others,  dreary  and  uninteresting  as  many  of  them  at  times 
are,  commemorated  the  events  of  their  time  in  the  "  Saxon 
Chronicle  "  and  gave  the  material  for  history,  so  the  journals  of 
the  bourgeois,  often  left  unpublished  for  a  generation  or  two, 
and  the  works  of  some  of  those  who  had  influence  and  literary 
ability  enough  to  issue  their  stories  in  the  form  of  books, 
supply  us  with  the  material  for  reproducing  their  times. 
From  such  sources  we  intend  to  give  a  few  sketches  of  the  life 
of  that  time. 

We  desire  to  express  the  greatest  appreciation  of  the  work 
of  ex-Governor  Masson,  who  is  related  to  the  McKenzie  and 
Chaboillez  families  of  that  period,  and  who  has  published  no 
less  than  fourteen  journals,  sketches  of  the  time  ;  of  the  pains- 
taking writing  of  an  American  officer,  Dr.  Coues,  who  has  with 
great  care  and  success  edited  the  journals  of  Alexander  Henry, 
Jr.,  and  such  remains  as  he  could  obtain  of  David  Thompson, 
thus  supplementing  the  publication  by  Charles  Lindsey,  of 
Toronto,  of  an  account  of  Thompson.  We  acknowledge  also 
the  patient  collection  of  material  by  Tasse  in  his  "  Canadiens 
de  L'Ouest,"  as  well  as  the  interesting  Journals  of  Harmon  and 
others,  which  have  done  us  good  service. 

VALUABLE   REMINISCENCES. 

The  name  of  McKenzie  (Hon.  Roderick  McKenzie)  was  one 
to  conjure  by  among  the  fur-traders.  From  the  fact  that  there 
were  so  many  well-known  partners  and  clerks  of  this  name 
arose  the  custom,  very  common  in  the  Highland  communities, 
of  giving  nicknames  to  distinguish  them.  Four  of  the  McKen- 
zies  were  "  Le  Rouge/'  "  Le  Blanc/'  "  Le  Borgne  "  (one-eyed), 
and  "  Le  Picote  "  (pock-marked).  Sir  Alexander  was  the 
most  notable,  and  after  him  his  cousin,  the  Hon.  Roderick,  of 
whom  we  write. 

This  distinguished  man  came  out  as  a  Highland  laddie  from 


i6o  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Scotland  in  1784.  He  at  once  entered  the  service  of  the  fur 
company,  and  made  his  first  journey  to  the  North-West  in  the 
next  year.  His  voyage  from  Ste.  Anne,  on  Montreal  Island, 
up  the  fur-traders'  route,  was  taken  in  Gregory  McLeod  &  Co/s 
service.  At  Grand  Portage  McKenzie  was  initiated  into  the 
mysteries  of  the  partners.  Pushed  into  the  North- West,  he 
soon  became  prominent,  and  built  the  most  notable  post  of 
the  upper  country,  Fort  Chipewyan. 

On  his  marriage  he  became  allied  to  a  number  of  the  mag- 
nates of  the  fur  company.  His  wife  belonged  to  the  popular 
family  of  Chaboillez,  two  other  daughters  of  which  were 
married,  one  to  the  well-known  Surveyor-General  of  Lower 
Canada,  Joseph  Bouchette,  and  another  to  Simon  McTavish, 
"  Le  Marquis." 

Roderick  McKenzie  was  a  man  of  some  literary  ability  and 
taste.  He  purposed  at  one  time  writing  a  history  of  the 
Indians  of  the  North-West  and  also  of  the  North-West  Com- 
pany. In  order  to  do  this,  he  sent  circulars  to  leading  traders, 
and  thus  receiving  a  number  of  journals,  laid  the  foundation  of 
the  literary  store  from  which  ex-Governor  Masson  prepared  his 
book  on  the  bourgeois. 

Between  him  and  his  cousin,  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie,  an 
extensive  correspondence  was  kept  up.  Extracts  from  the 
letters  of  the  distinguished  partner  form  the  burden  of  the 
"  Reminiscences  "  published  by  Masson.  Many  of  the  facts 
have  been  referred  to  in  our  sketch  of  Sir  Alexander  Macken- 
zie's voyages. 

For  eight  long  years  Roderick  McKenzie  remained  in  the 
Indian  country,  and  came  to  Canada  in  1797.  Some  two  years 
afterward  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie  left  the  old  Company  and 
headed  the  X  Y  Company.  At  that  time  Roderick  McKenzie 
was  chosen  in  the  place  of  his  cousin  in  the  North-West  Com- 
pany, and  this  for  several  years  caused  a  coolness  between 
them. 

His  "  Reminiscences  "  extend  to  1829,  at  which  time  he  was 
living  in  Terrebonne,  in  Lower  Canada.  He  became  a  member 
of  the  Legislative  Council  in  Lower  Canada,  and  he  has  a  num- 
ber of  distinguished  descendants.  Roderick  McKenzie  closes 
his  interesting  "  Reminiscences  "  with  an  elaborate  and  valua- 


THE  LORDS  OF  THE  LAKES  AND  FORESTS    161 

ble  list  of  the  proprietors,  clerks,  interpreters,  &c.,  of  the  North- 
West  Company  in  1799,  giving  their  distribution  in  the  depart- 
ments, and  the  salary  paid  each.  It  gives  us  a  picture  of  the 
magnitude  of  the  operations  of  the  North-West  Company. 

TALES   OF  THE   NORTH-WEST. 

Few  of  the  Nor' -Westers  aimed  at  collecting  and  preserving 
the  folk-lore  of  the  natives.  At  the  request  of  Roderick 
McKenzie,  George  Keith,  a  bourgeois  who  spent  a  great  part 
of  his  life  very  far  North,  viz.  in  the  regions  of  Athabasca, 
Mackenzie  River,  and  Great  Bear  Lake,  sent  a  series  of  letters 
extending  from  1807  onward  for  ten  years  embodying  tales, 
descriptions,  and  the  history  of  the  Indian  tribes  of  his  district. 
His  first  description  is  that  of  the  Beaver  Indians,  of  whom  he 
gives  a  vocabulary.  He  writes  for  us  a  number  of  tales  of  the 
Beaver  Indians,  viz.  *'  The  Indian  Hercules,"  "  Two  Lost 
Women,"  "  The  Flood,  a  Tale  of  the  Mackenzie  River,"  and 
"The  Man  in  the  Moon."  One  letter  gives  a  good  account  of 
the  social  manners  and  customs  of  the  Beaver  Indians,  and 
another  a  somewhat  complete  description  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains and  Mackenzie  River  country.  Descriptions  of  the  Filthy 
Lake  and  Grand  River  Indians  and  the  Long  Arrowed 
Indians,  with  a  few  more  letters  with  reference  to  the  fur  trade, 
make  up  the  interesting  collection.  George  Keith  may  be  said 
to  have  wielded  the  "  pen  of  a  ready  writer."  We  give  his 
story  of 

THE   MAN  IN  THE   MOON. 

A  Tale,  or  Tradition,  of  the  Beaver  Indians. 

"  In  the  primitive  ages  of  the  world,  there  was  a  man  and 
his  wife  who  had  no  children.  The  former  was  very  singular 
in  his  manner  of  living.  Being  an  excellent  hunter,  he  lived 
entirely  upon  the  blood  of  the  animals  he  killed.  This  circum- 
stance displeased  his  wife,  who  secretly  determined  to  play  him 
a  trick.  Accordingly  one  day  the  husband  went  out  hunting, 
and  left  orders  with  his  wife  to  boil  some  blood  in  a  kettle,  so 
as  to  be  ready  for  supper  on  his  return.  When  the  time  of  his 
expected  return  was  drawing  nigh,  his  wife  pierced  a  vein  with 
an  awl  in  her  left  arm  and  drew  a  copious  quantity  of  blood, 
M 


162  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

which  she  mixed  with  a  greater  quantity  of  the  blood  of  a 
moose  deer,  that  he  should  not  discover  it,  and  prepared  the 
whole  for  her  husband's  supper. 

"  Upon  his  return  the  blood  was  served  up  to  him  on  a  bark 
dish  ;  but,  upon  putting  a  spoonful  to  his  mouth,  he  detected 
the  malice  of  his  wife,  and  only  saying  that  the  blood  did  not 
smell  good,  threw  the  kettle  with  the  contents  about  her  ears. 

'  *  Night  coming  on,  the  man  went  to  bed  and  told  his  wife  to 
observe  the  moon  about  midnight.  After  the  first  nap,  the 
woman,  awaking,  was  surprised  to  find  that  her  husband  was 
absent.  She  arose  and  made  a  fire,  and,  lifting  up  her  eyes  to 
the  moon,  was  astonished  to  see  her  husband,  with  his  dog  and 
kettle,  in  the  body  of  the  moon,  from  which  he  has  never 
descended.  She  bitterly  lamented  her  misfortunes  during  the 
rest  of  her  days,  always  attributing  them  to  her  malicious 
invention  of  preparing  her  own  bjood  for  her  husband's 
supper." 

INTERESTING  AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

Among  all  the  Nor'-Westers  there  was  no  one  who  had  more 
of  the  Scottish  pride  of  family  than  John  McDonald,  of  Garth, 
claiming  as  he  did  to  be  descended  from  the  lord  of  the  isles. 
His  father  obtained  him  a  commission  in  the  British  army,  but 
he  could  not  pass  the  examination  on  account  of  a  blemish 
caused  by  an  accident  to  his  arm.  The  sobriquet,  "  Bras 
Croche  "  clung  to  him  all  his  life  as  a  fur  trader. 

Commended  to  Simon  McTavish,  the  young  man  became  his 
favourite,  and  in  1791  started  for  the  fur  country.  He  was 
placed  under  the  experienced  trader,  Angus  Shaw,  and  passed 
his  first  winter  in  the  far-off  Beaver  River,  north  of  the  Sas- 
katchewan. Next  winter  he  visited  the  Grand  Portage,  and 
he  tells  us  that  for  a  couple  of  weeks  he  was  feasting  on  the  best 
of  everything  and  the  best  of  fish.  Returning  to  the  Saskat- 
chewan, he  took  part  in  the  building  of  Fort  George  on  that 
river,  whence,  after  wintering,  the  usual  summer  journey  was 
made  to  Grand  Portage.  Here,  he  tells  us,  they  "  met  the 
gentlemen  from  Montreal  in  goodfellowship."  This  life 
continued  till  1795. 

He  shows  us  the  state  of  feeling  between  the  Companies. 


THE  LORDS  OF  THE  LAKES  AND  FORESTS    163 

* '  It  may  not  be  out  of  the  way  to  mention  that  on  New  Year's 
Day,  during  the  customary  firing  of  musketry,  one  of  our 
opponent's  bullies  purposely  fired  his  powder  through  my 
window.  I,  of  course,  got  enraged,  and  challenged  him  to 
single  combat  with  our  guns  ;  this  was  a  check  upon  him  ever 
after.'* 

Remaining  in  the  same  district,  by  the  year  1800  he  had, 
backed  as  he  was  by  powerful  influence,  his  sister  being 
married  to  Hon.  William  MacGillivray,  become  a  partner  in  the 
Company.  Two  years  afterward  he  speaks  of  old  Cuthbert 
Grant  coming  to  the  district,  but  in  the  spring,  this  officer 
being  sick,  McDonald  fitted  up  a  comfortable  boat  with  an 
awning,  in  which  Grant  went  to  the  Kaministiquia,  where  he 
died. 

In  1802,  McDonald  returned  from  Fort  William  and  deter- 
mined to  build  another  fort  farther  up  the  river  to  meet  a  new 
tribe,  the  Kootenays.  This  was  "  Rocky  Mountain  House." 
Visiting  Scotland  in  the  year  after,  he  returned  to  be  dispatched 
in  1804  to  English  River,  where  he  was  in  competition  with  a 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  trader.  In  the  next  year  he  went 
back  to  the  Saskatchewan,  saying  that,  although  a  very 
dangerous  department,  he  preferred  it.  Going  up  the  south 
branch  of  the  Saskatchewan,  he  erected  the  ' '  New  Chesterfield 
House  "  at  the  mouth  of  the  Red  Deer  River,  and  there  met 
again  a  detachment  of  Hudson's  Bay  Company  people. 

In  1806  he,  being  unwell,  spent  the  year  chiefly  in  Mon- 
treal, after  which  he  was  appointed  to  the  less  exacting 
field  of  Red  River.  One  interesting  note  is  given  us  as  to 
the  Red  River  forts.  He  says,  "  I  established  a  fort  at  the 
Junction  of  the  Red  and  Assiniboine  Rivers  and  called  it 
'  Gibraltar,'  though  there  was  not  a  rock  or  a  stone  within 
three  miles."  As  we  shall  see  afterwards,  the  building  of 
this  fort,  which  was  on  the  site  of  the  city  of  Winnipeg,  had 
taken  place  in  the  year  preceding. 

With  his  customary  energy  in  erecting  forts,  he  built  one  a 
distance  up  the  Qu'Appelle  River,  probably  Fort  Esperance. 
While  down  at  Fort  William  in  the  spring,  the  news  came 
to  him  that  David  Thompson  was  surrounded  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains  by  Blackfoot  war  parties.  McDonald  volunteered 


164  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

to  go  to  the  rescue,  and  with  thirty  chosen  men,  after  many 
dangers  and  hardships,  reached  Thompson  in  the  land  of  the 
Kootenays. 

McDonald  was  one  of  the  traders  selected  to  go  to  Britain  and 
thence  by  the  ship  Isaac  Todd  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  to 
meet  the  Astor  Fur  Company.  He  started  in  company  with 
Hon.  Edward  Ellice.  At  Rio  Janeiro  McDonald  shipped  from 
the  Isaac  Todd  on  board  the  frigate  Phoebe.  On  the  west  coast 
of  South  America  they  called  at  "  Juan  Fernandez,  Robinson 
Crusoe's  Island."  They  reached  the  Columbia  on  November 
30th,  1813,  and  in  company  with  trader  McDougall  took  over 
Astoria  in  King  George's  name,  McDonald  becoming  senior 
partner  at  Astoria. 

In  April,  1814,  McDonald  left  for  home  across  the  moun- 
tains, by  way  of  the  Saskatchewan,  and  in  due  time  arrived  at 
Fort  William.  He  came  to  Sault  Ste.  Marie  to  mid  the  fort 
built  by  the  Americans,  and  reached  Montreal  amid  some 
dangers.  The  last  adventure  mentioned  in  his  journal  was  that 
of  meeting  in  Terrebonne  Lord  Selkirk's  party  who  were  going 
to  the  North- West  to  oppose  the  Nor'-Westers. 

The  veteran  spent  his  last  days  in  the  County  of  Glengarry, 
Ontario,  and  died  in  1860,  between  eighty -nine  and  ninety 
years  of  age.  His  career  had  been  a  most  romantic  one,  and 
he  was  noted  for  his  high  spirit  and  courage,  as  well  as  for  his 
ceaseless  energy  as  a  trader. 

TWO  JOURNALS  AND  A   DESCRIPTION. 

James  McKenzie,  brother  of  Hon.  Roderick  McKenzie,  was 
a  graphic,  though  somewhat  irritable  writer  with  a  good  style. 
He  has  left  us  "  A  Journal  from  the  Athabasca  Country,"  a 
description  of  the  King's  posts  on  the  Lower  St.  Lawrence, 
with  a  Journal  of  a  Jaunt  through  the  King's  posts.  This  fur 
trader  Joined  the  North- West  Company. 

In  1799  he  was  at  Fort  Chipewyan.  His  descriptions  are 
minute  accounts  of  his  doings  at  his  fort.  He  seems  to  have 
taken  much  interest  in  his  men,  and  he  gives  a  pathetic  account 
of  one  of  these  trappers  called  "  Little  Labrie."  Labrie  had 
been  for  six  days  without  food,  and  was  almost  frozen  to  death. 
He  says  :  "  Little  Labrie's  feet  are  still  soaking  in  cold  water, 


THE  LORDS  OF  THE  LAKES  AND  FORESTS    165 

but  retain  their  hardness.  We  watched  him  all  last  night ;  he 
fainted  often  in  the  course  of  the  night,  but  we  always  brought 
him  to  life  again  by  the  help  of  mulled  wine.  Once  in  parti- 
cular, when  he  found  himself  very  weak  and  sick,  and  thought 
he  was  dying  he  said, '  Adieu  ;  je  m'en  vais  ;  tout  mon  bien  a 
ceux  qui  ont  soin  de  moi.'  10th,  about  twelve  o'clock,  Labrie 
was  freed  from  all  his  agonies  in  this  world."  McKenzie 
evidently  had  a  kind  heart. 

The  candid  writer  gives  us  a  picture  of  New  Year's  Day, 
January  1st,  1890.  "  This  morning  before  daybreak,  the  men, 
according  to  custom,  fired  two  broadsides  in  honour  of  the  New 
Year,  and  then  came  in  to  be  rewarded  with  rum,  as  usual. 
Some  of  them  could  hardly  stand  alone  before  they  went  away  ; 
such  was  the  effect  of  the  juice  of  the  grape  on  their  brains. 
After  dinner,  at  which  everyone  helped  themselves  so  plenti- 
fully that  nothing  remained  to  the  dogs,  they  had  a  bowl 
of  punch.  The  expenses  of  this  day,  with  fourteen  men  and 
women,  are  :  61 J  fathoms  Spencer  twist  (tobacco),  7  flagons 
rum,  1  ditto  wine,  1  ham,  a  skin's  worth  of  dried  meat,  about 
40  white  fish,  flour,  sugar,  &c." 

McKenzie  had  many  altercations  in  his  trade,  and  seems  to 
have  been  of  a  violent  temper.  He  found  fault  with  one  of  the 
X  Y  people,  named  Perroue,  saying  it  was  a  shame  for  him 
to  call  those  who  came  from  Scotland  "  vachers  "  (cow-boys). 
He  said  he  did  not  call  all,  but  a  few  of  them  "  vachers."  "  I 
desired  him  to  name  one  in  the  North,  and  told  him  that  the 
one  who  served  him  as  a  clerk  was  a '  vacher/  and  had  the  heart 
of  a  '  vacher  '  since  he  remained  with  him." 

McKenzie  has  frequent  accounts  of  drunken  brawls,  from 
which  it  is  easy  to  be  seen  that  this  period  of  the  opposition  of 
the  two  Montreal  Companies  was  one  of  the  most  dissolute 
in  the  history  of  the  fur  traders.  The  fur  trader's  violent 
temper  often  broke  out  against  employes  and  Indians  alike. 
He  had  an  ungovernable  dislike  to  the  Indians,  regarding  them 
simply  as  the  off-scourings  of  all  things,  and  for  the  voyageurs 
and  workmen  of  his  own  Company  the  denunciations  are  so 
strong  that  his  violent  language  was  regarded  as  ' '  sound  and 
fury,  signifying  nothing." 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  LORDS  OF  THE  LAKES  AND  FORESTS. — II. 

Harmon  and  his  book — An  honest  man — "  Straight  as  an  arrow  " — 
New  views — An  uncouth  giant — "  Gaelic,  English,  French,  and 
Indian  oaths  "—McDonnell,  "  Le  Pretre  "—St.  Andrew's  Day— 
"  Fathoms  of  tobacco  " — Down  the  Assiniboine — An  entertaining 
journal — A  good  editor — A  too  frank  trader — "  Gun  fired  ten 
yards  away  " — Herds  of  buffalo — Packs  and  pemmican — "  The 
fourth  Gospel  " — Drowning  of  Henry — "  The  weather  cleared 
up  " — Lost  for  forty  days — "  Cheepe,"  the  corpse — Larocque  and 
the  Mandans — McKenzie  and  his  half-breed  children. 

A  GOOD  TRADER  AND  A  GOOD  BOOK. 

To  those  interested  in  the  period  we  are  describing  there  is  not 
a  more  attractive  character  than  Daniel  Williams  Harmon,  a 
native  of  Vermont,  who  entered  the  North-West  Company's 
service  in  the  year  1800,  at  the  age  of  22.  After  a  number  of 
years  spent  in  the  far  West,  he  brought  with  him  on  a  visit  to 
New  England  the  Journal  of  his  adventures,  and  this  was 
edited  and  published  by  a  Puritan  minister,  Daniel  Haskel,  of 
Andover,  Massachusetts.  Harmon  and  the  book  are  both 
somewhat  striking,  though  possibly  neither  would  draw  forth 
universal  admiration.  The  youngest  of  his  daughters  was 
well  known  as  a  prominent  citizen  of  Ottawa,  and  had  a 
marked  reverence  for  the  memory  of  her  father. 

Leaving  Eachine  in  the  service  of  McTavish,  Frobisher  &  Co., 
the  young  fur  trader  followed  the  usual  route  up  the  Ottawa 
and  reached  in  due  course  Grand  Portage,  which  he  called 
"  the  general  rendezvous  for  the  fur  traders."  He  thus 
describes  the  fort :  "  It  is  twenty-four  rods  by  thirty,  is  built 
on  the  margin  of  the  Bay,  at  the  foot  of  a  hill  or  mountain  of 
considerable  height.  Within  the  fort  there  is  a  considerable 
number  of  dwelling-houses,  shops,  and  stores  ;  the  houses  are 

166 


THE  LORDS  OF  THE  LAKES  AND  FORESTS    167 

surrounded  by  palisades,  which  are  about  eighteen  inches  in 
diameter.  The  other  fort,  which  stands  about  200  rods  from 
this,  belongs  to  the  X  Y  Company.  It  is  only  three  years  since 
they  made  an  establishment  here,  and  as  yet  they  have  had  but 
little  success."  Harmon  was  appointed  to  follow  John 
McDonald,  of  Garth,  to  the  Upper  Saskatchewan.  On  the 
way  out,  however,  Harmon  was  ordered  to  the  Swan  River 
district.  Here  he  remained  for  four  years,  taking  a  lively 
interest  in  all  the  parts  of  a  trader's  life.  He  was  much  on 
the  Assiniboine,  and  passed  the  sites  of  Brandon,  Portage  la 
Prairie,  and  Winnipeg  of  to-day. 

In  October,  1805,  Harmon,  having  gone  to  the  Saskat- 
chewan, took  as  what  was  called  his  "  country  wife  "  a  French 
Canadian  half-breed  girl,  aged  fourteen.  He  states  that  it  was 
the  custom  of  the  country  for  the  trader  to  take  a  wife  from 
the  natives,  live  with  her  in  the  country,  and  then,  on  leaving 
the  country,  place  her  and  her  children  under  the  care  of  an 
honest  man  and  give  a  certain  amount  for  her  support.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  Harmon,  years  after,  on  leaving  the  country, 
took  his  native  spouse  with  him,  and  on  Lake  Champlain  some 
of  his  younger  children  were  born.  There  were  fourteen 
children  born  to  Mm,  and  his  North-West  wife  was  to  her  last 
days  a  handsome  woman,  "  as  straight  as  an  arrow." 

During  Harmon's  time  Athabasca  had  not  only  the  X  Y  Com- 
pany, but  also  a  number  of  forts  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany. Cumberland  House  was  the  next  place  of  residence  of 
the  fur  trader,  and  at  this  point  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
house  was  in  charge  of  Peter  Fidler.  Harmon's  Journal  con- 
tinues with  most  interesting  details  of  the  fur  trade,  which 
have  the  charm  of  liveliness  and  novelty.  Allusions  are 
constantly  made  to  the  leading  traders,  McDonald,  Fraser, 
Thompson,  Quesnel,  Stuart,  and  others  known  to  us  in  our 
researches.  In  the  course  of  time  (1810)  Harmon  found  his 
way  over  the  Rocky  Mountain  portage  and  pursued  the  fur 
trade  in  McLeod  Lake  Fort  and  Stuart's  Lake  in  New  Cale- 
donia, and  here  we  find  a  fort  called,  after  him,  Harmon's 
Fort.  His  description  of  the  Indians  is  always  graphic,  giving 
many  striking  customs  of  the  aborigines.  About  the  end  of 
1813  Harmon's  journal  is  taken  up  with  serious  religious 


168  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

reflections.  He  had  been  troubled  with  doubts  as  to  the 
reality  of  Christianity.  But  after  reading  the  Scriptures  and 
such  books  as  he  could  obtain,  he  tells  us  that  a  new  view  of 
things  was  his,  and  that  his  future  life  became  more  consistent 
and  useful.  He  records  us  a  series  of  the  resolutions  which 
he  adopted,  and  they  certainly  indicate  a  high  ideal  on  his  part. 

In  1816  he  had  really  become  habituated  to  the  upper 
country.  He  gives  us  a  glimpse  of  his  family  : — 

"  I  now  pass  a  short  time  every  day,  very  pleasantly,  in 
teaching  my  little  daughter  Polly  to  read  and  spell  words  in  the 
English  language,  in  which  she  makes  good  progress,  though 
she  knows  not  the  meaning  of  one  of  them.  In  conversing 
with  my  children  I  use  entirely  the  Cree  Indian  language  ; 
with  their  mother  I  more  frequently  employ  the  French.  Her 
native  tongue,  however,  is  more  familiar  to  her,  which  is  the 
reason  why  our  children  have  been  taught  to  speak  that  in 
preference  to  the  French  language.'*  In  his  journal,  which  at 
times  fully  shows  his  introspections,  he  gives  an  account  of  the 
struggle  in  his  own  mind  about  leaving  his  wife  in  the  country, 
as  was  the  custom  of  too  many  of  the  clerks  and  partners. 
He  had  instructed  her  in  the  principles  of  Christianity,  and  by 
these  principles  he  was  bound  to  her  for  life.  After  eight  and 
a  half  years  spent  on  the  west  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
Harmon  arrived  at  Fort  William,  1819,  having  made  a 
journey  of  three  thousand  miles  from  his  far-away  post  in  New 
Caledonia.  Montreal  was  soon  after  reached,  and  the  Journal 
comes  to  a  close. 

A   BUSY   BOURGEOIS. 

We  have  seen  the  energy  and  ability  displayed  by  John 
McDonald,  of  Garth,  known  as  "  Le  Bras  Croch."  Another 
trader,  John  McDonald,  is  described  by  Ross  Cox,  who  spent 
his  life  largely  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  region.  He  was  known 
as  McDonald  Grand.  "  He  was  6  ft.  4  in.  in  height,  with 
broad  shoulders,  large  bushy  whiskers,  and  red  hair,  which 
he  allowed  to  grow  for  years  without  the  use  of  scissors, 
and  which  sometimes,  falling  over  his  face  and  shoulders, 
gave  to  his  countenance  a  wild  and  uncouth  appearance." 
He  had  a  most  uncontrollable  temper,  and  in  his  rage  would 


THE  LORDS  OF  THE  LAKES  AND  FORESTS    169 

indulge  in  a  wild  medley  of  Gaelic,  English,  French,  and 
Indian  oaths. 

But  a  third  John  McDonnell  was  found  among  the  fur 
traders.  He  was  a  brother  of  Miles  McDonnell,  Lord  Selkirk's 
first  governor  of  the  Red  River  Settlement.  John  McDonnell 
was  a  rigid  Roman  Catholic,  and  was  known  as  "  Le  Pretre  " 
("  The  Priest  "),  from  the  fact  that  on  the  voyage  through  the 
fur  country  he  always  insisted  on  observing  the  Church  fasts 
along  with  his  French  Canadian  employes.  McDonnell,  on 
leaving  the  service  of  the  North-West  Company,  retired  to 
Point  Fortune,  on  the  Ottawa,  and  there  engaged  in  trade. 

We  have  his  journal  for  the  years  1793-5,  and  it  is  an 
excellent  example  of  what  a  typical  fur  trader's  journal  would 
be.  It  is  minute,  accurate,  and  very  interesting.  During  this 
period  he  spent  his  time  chiefly  in  trading  up  and  down  the 
Assiniboine  and  Red  Rivers.  A  few  extracts  will  show  the 
interesting  nature  of  his  journal  entries  : — 

Fort  Esplrance,  Oct.  18th,  1793.— Neil  McKay  set  out  to 
build  and  winter  at  the  Forks  of  the  river  (junction  of  the 
Qu'Appelle  and  Assiniboine),  alongside  of  Mr.  Peter  Grant, 
who  has  made  his  pitch  about  seven  leagues  from  here.  Mr. 
N.  McKay's  effects  were  carried  in  two  boats,  managed  by  five 
men  each.  Mr.  C.  Grant  set  out  for  his  quarters  of  River 
Tremblant,  about  thirty  leagues  from  here.  The  dogs  made  a 
woeful  howling  at  all  the  departures. 

Oct.  19th. — Seventeen  warriors  came  from  the  banks  of  the 
Missouri  for  tobacco.  They  slept  ten  nights  on  their  way,  and 
are  emissaries  from  a  party  of  Assiniboines  who  went  to  war 
upon  the  Sioux. 

Oct.  20th. — The  warriors  traded  a  few  skins  brought  upon 
their  backs  and  went  off  ill  pleased  with  their  reception. 
After  dark,  the  dogs  kept  up  a  constant  barking,  which  induced 
a  belief  that  some  of  the  warriors  were  lurking  about  the  fort 
for  an  opportunity  to  steal.  I  took  a  sword  and  pistol  and 
went  to  sleep  in  the  store.  Nothing  took  place. 

Oct.  31st. — Two  of  Mr.  N.  McKay's  men  came  from  the  forts, 
supposing  this  to  be  All  Saints'  Day.  Raised  a  flag-staff 
poplar,  fifty  feet  above  the  ground. 

Nov.  23rd. — The  men  were  in  chase  of  a  white  buffalo  all 


170  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

day,  but  could  not  get  within  shot  of  him.  Faignant  killed  two 
buffalo  cows.  A  mild  day. 

Nov.  30^. — St.  Andrew's  Day.  Hoisted  the  flag  in  honour 
of  the  titulary  saint  of  Scotland.  A  beautiful  day.  Expected 
Messrs.  Peter  Grant  and  Neil  McKay  to  dinner.  They  sent 
excuse  by  Bonneau. 

Dec.  2nd. — Sent  Mr.  Peter  Grant  a  Town  and  Country 
magazine  of  1790.  Poitras'  wife  made  me  nine  pairs  of  shoes 
(mocassins). 

Jan.  1st,  1794. — Mr.  Grant  gave  the  men  two  gallons  of 
rum  and  three  fathoms  of  tobacco,  by  the  way  of  New 
Year's  gift. 

(It  is  interesting  to  follow  McDonnell  on  one  of  his  journeys 
down  the  Assiniboine.) 

May  1st. — Sent  off  the  canoes  early  in  the  morning.  Mr. 
Grant  and  I  set  out  about  seven.  Slept  at  the  Forks  of 
River  Qu'Appelle. 

May  4:th. — Killed  four  buffalo  cows  and  two  calves  and 
camped  below  the  Fort  of  Mountain  a  La  Bosse  (near  Virden), 
about  two  leagues. 

May  5th. — Arrived  at  Ange's  River  La  Souris  Fort  (below 
Brandon). 

May  17th. — Passed  Fort  Des  Trembles  and  Portage  La 
Prairie. 

May  20th. — Arrived  at  the  Forks  Red  River  (present  city  of 
Winnipeg)  about  noon. 

May  24:th. — Arrived  at  the  Lake  (Winnipeg)  at  10  a.m. 

May  21th. — Arrived  at  the  Sieur's  Fort  (Fort  Alexander  at 
the  mouth  of  Winnipeg  River). 

McDonnell  also  gives  in  his  journal  a  number  of  particulars 
about  the  Cree  and  Assiniboine  Indians,  describing  their 
religion,  marriages,  dress,  dances,  and  mourning.  The  reader 
is  struck  with  the  difference  in  the  recital  by  different  traders 
of  the  lives  lived  by  them.  The  literary  faculty  is  much  more 
developed  in  some  cases  than  in  others,  and  John  McDonnell 
was  evidently  an  observing  and  quick-witted  man.  He  be- 
longed to  a  U.  E.  Loyalist  Scottish  family  that  took  a  good 
position  in  the  affairs  of  early  Canada. 


THE  LORDS  OF  THE  LAKES  AND  FORESTS    171 

A   FULL   AND    INTERESTING   AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

That  the  first  trader  of  the  North-West  whom  we  have 
described,  Alexander  Henry,  should  have  been  followed  in  the 
North- West  fur  trade  by  his  nephew,  Alexander  Henry,  Jr., 
is  in  itself  a  thing  of  interest ;  but  that  the  younger  Henry 
should  have  left  us  a  most  voluminous  and  entertaining  journal 
is  a  much  greater  matter. 

The  copy  of  this  journal  is  in  the  Parliamentary  Library  at 
Ottawa,  and  forms  two  large  bound  folio  volumes  of  1,642 
pages.  It  is  not  the  original,  but  is  a  well -approved  copy  made 
in  1824  by  George  Coventry,  of  Montreal.  For  many  years  this 
manuscript  has  been  in  the  Parliamentary  Library,  and  extracts 
have  been  made  and  printed.  Recently  an  American  writer, 
Dr.  Coues,  who  has  done  good  service  in  editing  the  notable 
work  of  Lewis  and  Clark,  and  also  that  of  Zebulon  S.  Pike, 
has  published  a  digest  of  Henry's  journal  and  added  to  it  very 
extensive  notes  of  great  value.  The  greatest  praise  is  due  to 
this  author  for  the  skill  with  which  he  has  edited  the  journal, 
and  all  students  of  the  period  are  indebted  to  one  so  well  fitted 
to  accomplish  the  task. 

The  journal  opens,  in  1799,  with  Henry  on  the  waters  of  a 
tributary  of  Lake  Manitoba,  he  having  arrived  from  Grand 
Portage  by  the  usual  fur  traders'  route.  In  this  place  he  built 
a  trading  house  and  spent  his  first  winter.  In  the  following 
year  the  trader  is  found  on  the  Red  River  very  near  the  forty- 
ninth  parallel  of  north  latitude,  and  is  engaged  in  establishing 
a  post  at  the  mouth  of  the  Pembina  River,  a  tributary  of  Red 
River.  At  this  post  Henry  remains  until  1808,  going  hither 
and  thither  in  trading  expeditions,  establishing  new  outposts, 
counter-working  the  rival  traders  of  the  X  Y  Company,  and 
paying  his  visits  from  time  to  time  to  Grand  Portage. 

Henry's  entries  are  made  with  singular  clearness  and 
realistic  force.  He  recites  with  the  utmost  frankness  the 
details  of  drunken  debauchery  among  the  Indians,  the  plots  of 
one  company  to  outdo  the  other  in  trading  with  the  Indians, 
and  the  tricks  of  trade  so  common  at  this  period  in  the  fur 
trade. 

A  few  examples  of  his  graphic  descriptions  may  be  given. 


172  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

"  At  ten  o'clock  I  came  to  the  point  of  wood  in  which  the  fort 
was  built,  and  just  as  I  entered  the  gate  at  a  gallop,  to  take  the 
road  that  led  to  the  gate,  a  gun  was  fired  about  ten  yards  from 
me,  apparently  by  a  person  who  lay  in  the  long  grass.  My 
horse  was  startled  and  jumped  on  one  side,  snorting  and 
prancing ;  but  I  kept  my  seat,  calling  out,  '  Who  is  there  ?  ' 
No  answer  was  returned.  I  instantly  took  my  gun  from  my 
belt,  and  cocked  her  to  fire,  forgetting  she  was  not  loaded  and 
I  had  no  ammunition.  I  could  still  see  the  person  running 
in  the  grass,  and  was  disappointed  in  not  having  a  shot  at  him. 
I  again  called  out,  '  Who  is  there  ? '  '  C'est  moi,  bourgeois.' 
It  proved  to  be  one  of  my  men,  Charbonneau.  I  was  vexed 
with  him  for  causing  me  such  consternation." 

BED   RIVER. 

"  February  28th,  1801. — Wolves  and  crows  are  very  numer- 
ous, feeding  on  the  buffalo  carcasses  that  lie  in  every  direction. 
I  shot  two  buffalo  cows,  a  calf,  and  two  bulls,  and  got  home 
after  dark.  I  was  choking  with  thirst,  having  chased  the 
buffalo  on  snow-shoes  in  the  heat  of  the  day,  when  the  snow 
so  adheres  that  one  is  scarcely  able  to  raise  the  feet.  A 
draught  of  water  was  the  sweetest  beverage  I  ever  tasted.  An 
Indian  brought  in  a  calf  of  this  year,  which  he  found  dead. 
It  was  well  grown,  and  must  have  perished  last  night  in  the 
snow.  This  was  thought  extraordinary  ;  they  say  it  denotes 
an  early  spring. 

"  March  5th. — The  buffalo  have  for  some  time  been  wander- 
ing in  every  direction.  My  men  have  raised  and  put  their 
traps  in  order  for  the  spring  hunt,  as  the  raccoons  begin  to 
come  out  of  their  winter  quarters  in  the  daytime,  though  they 
retire  to  the  hollow  trees  at  night.  On  the  8th  it  rained 
for  four  hours  ;  fresh  meat  thawed.  On  the  9th  we  saw 
the  first  spring  bird.  Bald  eagles  we  have  seen  the  whole 
winter,  but  now  they  are  numerous,  feeding  on  the  buffalo 
carcasses." 

During  the  Red  River  period  Henry  made  a  notable  Journey 
in  1806  across  the  plains  to  the  Mandans  on  the  Missouri. 
Two  years  afterward  he  bids  farewell  to  Red  River  and  the 
Assiniboine,  and  goes  to  carry  on  trade  in  the  Saskatchewan. 


THE  LORDS  OF  THE  LAKES  AND  FORESTS    173 

While  on  the  Saskatchewan,  which  was  for  three  years,  he  was 
in  charge  of  important  forts,  viz.  Fort  Vermilion,  Terre 
Blanche,  and  the  Rocky  Mountain  House.  His  energy  and 
acquaintance  with  the  prairie  were  well  shown  in  his  explora- 
tion of  this  great  region,  and  the  long  journeys  willingly 
undertaken  by  him.  His  account  of  the  western  prairies, 
especially  of  the  Assiniboines,  is  complete  and  trustworthy. 
In  fact,  he  rejoices  in  supplying  us  with  the  details  of  their 
lives  and  manners  which  we  might  well  be  spared. 

A  gap  of  two  years  from  1811  is  found  in  Henry's  journal, 
but  it  is  resumed  in  1813,  the  year  in  which  he  crosses  the 
Rocky  Mountains  and  is  found  in  the  party  sent  by  the  North  - 
West  Company  to  check  the  encroachments  on  the  Columbia 
of  the  Astor  Fur  Company.  His  account  of  the  voyage  on  the 
Pacific  is  regarded  as  valuable,  and  Dr.  Coues  says  some- 
what quaintly  :  "  His  work  is  so  important  a  concordance 
that  if  Franchere,  Cox,  and  Ross  be  regarded  as  the  synoptical 
writers  of  Astoria,  then  Henry  furnishes  the  fourth  Gospel." 

After  the  surrender  of  Astoria  to  the  North -West  Company 
and  its  occupation  by  the  British,  some  of  the  Nor'-Westers 
returned.  John  McDonald,  of  Garth,  as  we  have  seen,  crossed 
the  mountains.  In  his  Journal  occurs  a  significant  entry  : 
"  Mr.  la  Rogue  brings  the  melancholy  intelligence  that 
Messrs.  D.  McTavish,  Alexander  Henry,  and  five  sailors  were 
drowned  on  May  22nd  last,  in  going  out  in  a  boat  from  Fort 
George  to  the  vessel  called  the  Isaac  Todd."  Ross  Cox  gives 
a  circumstantial  account  of  this  sad  accident,  though,  strange 
to  say,  he  does  not  mention  the  name  of  Henry,  while  giving 
that  of  D.  McTavish. 

It  is  somewhat  startling  to  us  to  find  that  Henry  continued 
his  journal  up  to  the  very  day  before  his  death,  his  last 
sentence  being,  "  The  weather  cleared  up." 

A   TRADER   LOST   FOR   FORTY    DAYS. 

Lying  before  the  writer  is  the  copy  of  a  letter  of  John 
Pritchard,  of  the  X  Y  Company,  written  in  1805,  giving  an 
account  of  a  forty  days'  adventure  of  a  most  thrilling  kind. 
Pritchard  was  in  charge  of  the  X  Y  Fort  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Souris  River  on  the  Assiniboine.  He  had  on  June  10th  gone 


174  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

with,  one  of  the  clerks  up  the  River  Assiniboine,  intending  to 
reach  Qu'Appelle  Fort,  a  distance  of  120  miles.  All  went  well 
till  Montagne  a  la  Bosse  was  reached,  where  there  was  a 
trading  house.  Going  westward,  the  two  traders  were 
separated  in  looking  for  the  horses.  Pritchard  lit  fires  for 
two  days,  but  could  attract  no  attention.  Then  he  realized 
that  he  was  lost.  Misled  by  the  belts  of  timber  along  the 
different  streams,  he  went  along  the  Pipestone,  thinking  he 
was  going  towards  the  Assiniboine.  In  this  he  was  mistaken. 
Painfully  he  crept  along  the  river,  his  strength  having  nearly 
gone.  Living  on  frogs,  two  hawks,  and  a  few  other  birds,  he 
says  at  the  end  of  ten  days,  *  *  I  perceived  my  body  completely 
wasted.  Nothing  was  left  me  but  my  bones,  covered  with  a 
skin  thinner  than  paper.  I  was  perfectly  naked,  my  clothes 
having  been  worn  in  making  shoes,  with  which  1  protected  my 
bruised  and  bleeding  feet/' 

Some  days  after,  Pritchard  found  a  nest  of  small  eggs  and 
lived  on  them.  He  says,  "  How  mortifying  to  me  to  see  the 
buffalo  quenching  their  thirst  in  every  lake  near  to  which  I 
slept,  and  geese  and  swans  in  abundance,  whilst  I  was  dying  of 
hunger  in  this  land  of  plenty,  for  want  of  wherewith  to  kill." 
After  trying  to  make  a  hook  and  line  to  fish,  and  failing  ;  after 
being  tempted  to  lie  down  and  give  up  life,  he  caught  a  hen 
grouse,  which  greatly  strengthened  him,  as  he  cooked  and  ate 
it.  He  had  now  crossed  the  Souris  River,  thinking  it  to  be  the 
Assiniboine,  and  came  upon  a  great  plain  where  the  prairie 
turnip  (Psoralea  esculenta)  grew  plentifully.  Pushing  south- 
ward, being  sustained  by  the  bulbs  of  this  "  pomme  blanche," 
as  it  is  called  by  the  French  voyageurs,  Pritchard  came  at 
length  to  Whitewater  Lake,  near  Turtle  Mountain,  and  here 
found  two  vacant  wintering  houses  of  the  fur  traders.  He  now 
was  able  to  identify  his  locality  and  to  estimate  that  he  was 
sixty  miles  directly  south  of  his  trading  post.  His  feet,  pierced 
by  the  spear  grass  (Stipa  spartea),  were  now  in  a  dreadful 
condition.  He  found  a  pair  of  old  shoes  in  the  vacant  fort 
and  several  pairs  of  socks. 

He  determined  to  move  northward  to  his  fort.  Soon  he  was 
met  by  a  band  of  Indians,  who  were  alarmed  at  his  worn 
appearance.  The  natives  took  good  care  of  him  and  carried 


THE  LORDS  OF  THE  LAKES  AND  FORESTS    175 

him,  at  times  unconscious,  to  his  fort,  which  he  reached  after 
an  absence  of  forty  days.  He  says,  "  Picture  to  yourself  a 
man  whose  bones  are  scraped,  not  an  atom  of  flesh  remaining, 
then  over  these  bones  a  loose  skin,  fine  as  the  bladder  of  an 
animal ;  a  beard  of  forty  days'  growth,  his  hair  full  of  filth  and 
scabs.  You  will  then  have  some  idea  of  what  I  was/'  The 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  officer,  McKay,  from  the  neighbouring 
fort,  was  exceedingly  kind  and  supplied  his  every  want. 

The  Cree  Indians  after  this  adventure  called  Pritchard  the 
Manitou  or  Great  Spirit.  The  Assiniboines  called  him  Cheepe 
— or  the  corpse,  referring  to  his  wan  appearance.  For  weeks 
after  his  return  the  miserable  trader  was  unable  to  move 
about,  but  in  time  recovered,  and  lived  to  a  good  old  age  on 
the  banks  of  the  Red  River. 

To  the  last  day  of  his  life  he  referred  to  his  great  deliverance, 
and  was  thoroughly  of  the  opinion  that  his  preservation  was 
miraculous. 

ASSINIBOINE   TO   MISSOURI. 

We  are  fortunate  in  having  two  very  good  journals  of 
journeys  made  in  the  early  years  of  the  century  from  the 
forts  at  the  junction  of  the  Souris  and  Assinibome  River  to 
the  Missouri  River.  As  was  described  in  the  case  of  David 
Thompson,  this  was  a  long  and  tedious  journey,  and  yet  it  was 
at  one  time  within  the  plans  of  the  North-West  Company  to 
carry  their  trade  thither.  Few  of  the  French  Canadian  gentle- 
men entered  into  the  North-West  Company.  One  of  these, 
who  became  noted  as  an  Indian  trader,  was  Fran9ois  Antoine 
Larocque,  brother-in-law  of  Quesnel,  the  companion  of  Simon 
Fraser.  Of  the  same  rank  as  himself,  and  associated  with  him, 
was  a  trader,  Charles  McKenzie,  who  entered  the  North -West 
Company  as  a  clerk  in  1803. 

The  expedition  to  the  Mandans  under  these  gentlemen,  left 
Fort  Assiniboine  on  November  llth,  1804,  a  party  in  all  of 
seven,  and  provided  with  horses,  five  of  which  carried  merchan- 
dise for  trade.  After  the  usual  incidents  of  this  trying  journey, 
the  Missouri  was  reached. 

The  notable  event  of  this  Journey  was  the  meeting  with  the 
American  expedition  of  Lewis  and  Clark,  then  on  its  way  to 


176  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

cross  overland  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Larocque  in  his  journal 
gives  information  about  this  expedition.  Leaving  Philadel- 
phia in  1803,  the  expedition,  consisting  of  upward  of  forty  men, 
had  taken  till  October  to  reach  the  Mandans  on  the  Missouri. 
The  purposes  of  the  expedition  of  Lewis  and  Clark  were  : — 

(1)  To  explore  the  territory  towards  the  Pacific  and  settle 
the  boundary  line  between  the  British  and  American  territories. 

(2)  To  quiet  the  Indians  of  the  Missouri  by  conference  and 
the  bestowment  of  gifts. 

Larocque  was  somewhat  annoyed  by  the  message  given  him 
by  Lewis  and  Clark,  that  no  flags  or  medals  could  be  given 
by  the  North-West  Company  to  the  Indians  in  the  Missouri, 
inasmuch  as  they  were  American  Indians.  Larocque  had 
some  amusement  at  the  continual  announcement  by  these 
leaders  that  the  Indians  would  be  protected  so  long  as  they 
should  behave  as  dutiful  children  to  the  great  father,  the 
President  of  the  United  States.  In  the  spring  the  party  re- 
turned, after  wintering  on  the  Missouri.  In  1805,  during  the 
summer,  another  expedition  went  to  the  Missouri ;  in  1806, 
Charles  McKenzie  went  in  February  to  the  Mandans,  and, 
returning,  made  a  second  journey  in  the  same  year  to  the 
Missouri.  The  account  given  by  McKenzie  of  the  journeys  of 
1804-6  is  an  exceedingly  well  written  one,  for  this  leader  was 
fond  of  study,  and,  we  are  told,  delighted  especially  in  the 
history  of  his  native  land,  the  highlands  of  Scotland. 

Charles  McKenzie  had  married  an  Indian  woman,  and 
became  thoroughly  identified  with  the  North-West.  He  was 
fond  of  his  native  children,  and  stood  up  for  their  recognition 
on  the  same  plane  as  the  white  children.  After  the  union  of 
the  North-West  Company  and  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
the  English  influence  largely  prevailed.  Thinking  that  his 
son,  who  was  well  educated  at  the  Red  River  Seminary,  was 
not  sufficiently  recognized  by  the  Company,  McKenzie  wrote 
bitterly,  "  It  appears  the  present  concern  has  stamped  the 
Cain  mark  upon  all  born  in  this  country.  Neither  education 
nor  abilities  serve  them.  The  Honourable  Company  are  un- 
willing to  take  natives,  even  as  apprenticed  clerks,  and  the 
favoured  few  they  do  take  can  never  aspire  to  a  higher  status, 
be  their  education  and  capacity  what  they  may." 


.OR 


THE  LORDS  OF  THE  LAKES  AND  FORESTS    177 

McKenzie  continued  the  fur  trade  until  1846,  when  he  re- 
tired and  settled  on  the  Red  River.  His  son,  Hector  McKenzie, 
now  dead,  was  well  known  on  the  Red  River,  and  accompanied 
one  of  the  explorations  to  the  far  north. 

Larocque  did  not  continue  long  in  the  fur  trade,  but  went 
to  Montreal  and  embarked  in  business,  in  which  he  was  very 
unsuccessful.  He  spent  the  last  years  of  his  life  in  retirement 
and  close  study,  and  died  in  the  Grey  nunnery  in  a  Lower 
Canadian  parish. 


N 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  LORDS  OF  THE  LAKES  AND  FORESTS. — HI. 

Dashing  French  trader — "  The  country  of  fashion  " — An  air  of  great 
superiority — The  road  is  that  of  heaven — Enough  to  intimidate 
a  Caesar— "The  Bear"  and  the  "Little  Branch  "—Yet  more 
rum — A  great  Irishman — "  In  the  wigwam  of  Wabogish  dwelt 
his  beautiful  daughter  " — Wedge  of  gold — Johnston  and  Henry 
Schoolcraft — Duncan  Cameron  on  Lake  Superior — His  views 
of  trade — Peter  Grant,  the  ready  writer — Paddling  the  canoe — 
Indian  folk-lore — Chippewa  burials — Remarkable  men  and  great 
financiers,  marvellous  explorers,  facile  traders. 

A  DASHING  FRENCH  TRADER — FRANCOIS   VICTOR  MALHIOT. 

A  GAY  and  intelligent  French  lad,  taken  with  the  desire  of 
leading  the  life  of  the  traders  in  the  "  upper  country  "  (pays 
d'en  haul],  at  the  age  of  fifteen  deserted  school  and  entered  the 
North- West  Company.  In  1796,  at  the  age  of  twenty,  he  was 
promoted  to  a  clerkship  and  sent  to  a  post  in  the  upper  part  of 
the  Red  River  country.  On  account  of  his  inferior  education 
he  was  never  advanced  to  the  charge  of  a  post  in  the  Com- 
pany's service,  but  he  was  always  noted  for  his  courage  and 
the  great  energy  displayed  by  him  in  action.  In  1804  Malhiot 
was  sent  to  Wisconsin,  where  he  carried  on  trade. 

For  the  North-West  Company  there  he  built  a  fort  and 
waged  a  vigorous  warfare  with  the  other  traders,  strong  drink 
being  one  of  the  most  ready  weapons  in  the  contest.  In  1801 
the  trader  married  after  the  "  country  fashion  "  (&  la  fagon  du 
pays),  i.e.  as  we  have  explained,  he  had  taken  an  Indian  woman 
to  be  his  wife,  with  the  understanding  that  when  he  retired 
from  the  fur  trade,  she  should  be  left  provided  for  as  to  her 
living,  but  be  free  to  marry  another. 

Malhiot  tired  of  the  fur  trade  in  1807  and  returned  to  Lower 
Canada,  where  he  lived  till  his  death.  Malhiot  Js  Indian  wife 

178 


THE  LORDS  OF  THE  LAKES  AND  FORESTS    179 

was  afterwards  twice  married,  and  one  of  her  sons  by  the  third 
marriage  became  a  member  of  the  Legislature  in  Lower  Can- 
ada. A  brother  of  Malhiot's  became  a  colonel  in  the  British 
army  in  India,  and  another  brother  was  an  influential  man  in 
his  native  province. 

Few  traders  had  more  adventures  than  this  French  Canadian. 
Stationed  west  of  Lake  Superior,  at  Lac  du  Flambeau,  Malhiot 
found  himself  surrounded  by  men  of  the  X  Y  Company,  and  he 
assumed  an  air  of  great  superiority  in  his  dealings  with  the 
Indians.  Two  of  his  companions  introduced  Mm  to  the 
savages  as  the  brother  of  William  McGillivray,  the  head  of  the 
North- West  Company.  He  says,  "  This  thing  has  produced 
a  very  good  effect  up  to  the  present,  for  they  never  name  me 
otherwise  than  as  their  '  father.'  I  am  glad  to  believe  that 
they  will  respect  mo  more  than  they  otherwise  would  have 
done,  and  will  do  themselves  the  honour  of  trading  with  me 
this  winter." 

Speaking  of  the  rough  country  through  which  he  was 
passing,  Malhiot  says,  "  Of  all  the  passages  and  places  that  I 
have  been  able  to  see  during  the  thirteen  years  in  which  I 
travelled,  this  is  the  most  frightful  and  unattractive.  The 
road  of  the  portage  is  truly  that  of  heaven,  for  it  is  strait, 
full  of  obstacles,  slippery  places,  thorns,  and  bogs.  The  men 
who  pass  it  loaded,  and  who  are  obliged  to  carry  over  it  bales, 
certainly  deserve  the  name  of  '  men/ 

' '  This  villainous  portage  is  only  inhabited  by  owls,  because 
no  other  animal  could  find  its  living  there,  and  the  cries  of 
these  solitary  birds  are  enough  to  frighten  an  angel  and  to 
intimidate  a  Caesar." 

Malhiot  maintained  his  dignified  attitude  to  the  Indians  and 
held  great  conferences  with  the  chiefs,  always  with  an  eye  to 
the  improvement  of  trade.  To  one  he  says  : — 

"  MY  FATHER, — It  is  with  great  joy  that  I  smoke  in  thy 
pipe  of  peace  and  that  I  receive  thy  word.  Our  chief  trader  at 
Kaministiquia  will  accept  it,  I  trust,  this  spring,  with  satisfac- 
tion, and  he  will  send  thee  a  mark  of  his  friendship,  if  thou 
dost  continue  to  do  well.  So  I  take  courage  !  Only  be  as  one, 
and  look  at  the  fort  of  the  X  Y  from  a  distance  if  thou  dost  wish 
to  attain  to  what  thou  desirest," 


i8o  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

In  April,  1805,  the  trader  says,  "  My  people  have  finished 
building  my  fort,  and  it  is  the  prettiest  of  any  in  the  Indian 
country.  Long  live  the  North- West  Company  !  Honour  to 
Malhiot !  " 

Malhiot  gives  a  very  sad  picture  of  the  degeneracy  of  the 
trade  at  this  time,  produced  by  the  use  of  strong  drink  in 
gaining  the  friendship  of  the  Indians.  A  single  example  may 
suffice  to  show  the  state  of  affairs. 

April  26^.—"  The  son  of  '  Whetstone/  brother-in-law  of 
Chorette,  came  here  this  evening  and  made  me  a  present  of 
one  otter,  15  rats,  and  12  Ibs.  of  sugar,  for  which  I  gave  him 
4  pots  of  rum.  He  made  them  drunk  at  Chorette's  with  the 
'Indians/  the  *  Bear/  and  '  the  Little  Branch/  When  they 
were  well  intoxicated,  they  cleared  the  house,  very  nearly  killed 
Chorette,  shot  La  Lancette,  and  broke  open  the  store-house. 
They  carried  away  two  otters,  for  which  I  gave  them  more 
rum  this  morning,  but  without  knowing  they  had  been  stolen. 
All  this  destruction  occurred  because  Chorette  had  promised 
them  more  rum,  and  that  he  had  not  any  more." 

Malhiot  'a  journal  closes  with  the  statement  that  after  a  long 
journey  from  the  interior  he  and  his  party  had  camped  in  view 
of  the  island  at  Grand  Portage. 

AN  IRISHMAN   OF  DISTINCTION. 

In  the  conflict  of  the  North-West,  X  Y,  and  Hudson's  Bay 
Companies,  it  is  interesting  to  come  upon  the  life  and  writing  of 
an  Irishman,  a  man  of  means,  who,  out  of  love  for  the  wilds  of 
Lake  Superior,  settled  down  upon  its  shores  and  became  a ' '  free 
trader/'  as  he  was  called.  This  was  John  Johnston,  who  came 
to  Montreal,  enjoyed  the  friendship  of  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  the 
Governor  of  Canada,  and  hearing  of  the  romantic  life  of  the  fur 
traders,  plunged  into  the  interior,  in  1792  settled  at  La  Pointe, 
on  the  south  side  of  Lake  Superior,  and  established  himself  as 
an  independent  trader.  A  gentleman  of  birth  and  education, 
Johnston  seems  to  have  possessed  a  refined  and  even  religious 
spirit.  Filled  with  high  thoughts  inspired  by  a  rocky  and 
romantic  island  along  the  shore,  he  named  it  "  Contemplation 
Island/'  Determined  to  pass  his  life  on  the  rocky  but  pictur- 
esque shores  of  Lake  Superior,  Johnston  became  friendly  with 


THE  LORDS  OF  THE  LAKES  AND  FORESTS    181 

the  Indian  people.  The  old  story  of  love  and  marriage  comes 
in  here  also.  The  chief  of  the  region  was  Wabogish,  the 
;'  White  Fisher,"  whose  power  extended  as  far  west  as  the 
Mississippi.  In  the  wigwam  of  Wabogish  dwelt  his  beautiful 
daughter.  Her  hand  had  been  sought  by  many  young  braves, 
but  she  had  refused  them  all.  The  handsome,  sprightly  Irish- 
man had,  however,  gained  her  affections,  and  proposed  to  her 
father  for  her.  Writing  long  afterward  he  describes  her  as  she 
was  when  he  first  saw  her,  a  year  after  his  arrival  on  the  shores 
of  Lake  Superior.  "  Wabogish  or  the  '  White  Fisher,'  the 
chief  of  La  Pointe,  made  his  sugar  on  the  skirts  of  a  high 
mountain,  four  days'  march  from  the  entrance  of  the  river  to 
the  south-east.  His  eldest  daughter,  a  girl  of  fourteen,  exceed- 
ingly handsome,  with  a  cousin  of  hers  who  was  two  or  three 
years  older,  rambling  one  day  up  the  eastern  side  of  the  moun- 
tain, came  to  a  perpendicular  cliff  exactly  fronting  the  rising 
sun.  Near  the  base  of  the  cliff  they  found  a  piece  of  yellow 
metal,  as  they  called  it,  about  eighteen  inches  long,  a  foot 
broad,  four  inches  thick  and  perfectly  smooth.  It  was  so 
heavy  that  they  could  raise  it  only  with  great  difficulty.  After 
examining  it  for  some  time,  it  occurred  to  the  eldest  girl  that  it 
belonged  to  the  '  Gitche  Manitou,'  '  The  Great  Spirit,'  upon 
which  they  abandoned  the  place  with  precipitation. 

"  As  the  Chippewas  are  not  idolaters,  it  occurs  to  me  that 
some  of  the  southern  tribes  must  have  emigrated  thus  far  to 
the  North,  and  that  the  piece  either  of  copper  or  of  gold  is  part 
of  an  altar  dedicated  to  the  sun.  If  my  conjecture  is  right, 
the  slab  is  more  probably  gold — as  the  Mexicans  have  more  of 
that  metal  than  they  have  of  copper." 

The  advances  of  Johnston  toward  chief  Wabogish  for  mar- 
riage to  his  daughter  were  for  a  time  resisted  by  the  forest 
magnate.  Afraid  of  the  marriages  made  after  the  country 
fashion,  he  advised  Johnston  to  return  to  his  native  country  for 
a  time.  If,  after  a  sufficient  absence,  his  affection  for  his 
daughter  shoufd  still  remain  strong,  he  would  consent  to  their 
marriage.  Johnston  returned  to  Ireland,  disposed  of  his 
property,  and  came  back  to  Lake  Superior  to  claim  his  bride. 

Johnston  settled  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  where  he  had  a  "  very 
considerable  establishment  with  extensive  plantations  of  corn 


182  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

and  vegetables,  a  beautiful  garden,  a  comfortable  house,  a  good 
library,  and  carried  on  an  important  trade." 

During  the  war  of  1814  he  co-operated  with  the  British 
commandant,  Colonel  McDonald,  in  taking  the  island  of 
Michilimackinac  from  the  Americans.  While  absent,  the 
American  expedition  landed  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  and  set  fire  to 
Johnston's  house,  stables,  and  other  buildings,  and  these  were 
burnt  to  the  ground,  his  wife  and  children  viewing  the  destruc- 
tion of  their  home  from  the  neighbouring  woods. 

Masson  says  :  "  A  few  years  afterwards,  Mr.  Johnston  once 
more  visited  his  native  land,  accompanied  by  his  wife  and 
his  eldest  daughter,  a  young  lady  of  surpassing  beauty.  Every 
inducement  was  offered  to  them  to  remain  in  the  old  country, 
the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Northumberland  having  even  offered 
to  adopt  their  daughter.  They  preferred,  however,  returning 
to  the  shores  of  Lake  Superior,  where  Miss  Johnston  was 
married  to  Mr.  Henry  Schoolcraft,  the  United  States  Indian 
agent  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  and  the  distinguished  author  of  the 
'  History  of  the  Indian  Tribes  of  the  United  States/  '  Mr. 
Johnston  wrote  "  An  Account  of  Lake  Superior  "  at  the  request 
of  Roderick  McKenzie.  This  we  have,  but  it  is  chiefly  a 
geographical  description  of  the  greatest  of  American  lakes. 
Johnston  died  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie  in  1828." 


A  DETERMINED  TRADER  OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR. 

A  most  daring  and  impulsive  Celt  was  Duncan  Cameron. 
He  and  his  family  were  Scottish  U.  E.  Loyalists  from  the 
Mohawk  River  in  New  York  State.  As  a  young  man  he 
entered  the  fur  trade,  and  was  despatched  to  the  region  on 
Lake  Superior  to  serve  under  Mr.  Shaw,  the  father  of  Angus 
Shaw,  of  whom  we  have  already  spoken.  In  1786  Cameron 
became  a  clerk  and  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  Nepigon 
district,  an  important  field  for  his  energies.  Though  this 
region  was  a  difficult  one,  yet  by  hard  work  he  made  it  remun- 
erative to  his  Company.  Speaking  of  his  illness,  caused  by 
exposure,  he  says,  in  writing  a  letter  to  his  friend,  "  I  can 
assure  you  it  is  with  great  difficulty  I  can  hold  my  pen, 
but  I  must  tell  you  that  the  X  Y  sends  into  the  Nepigon  this 


THE  LORDS  OF  THE  LAKES  AND  FORESTS     183 

year  ;  therefore,  should  I  leave  my  bones  there,  I  shall  go  to 
winter." 

In  response  to  the  application  of  Roderick  McKenzie, 
Duncan  Cameron  sent  a  description  of  the  Nepigon  district 
and  a  journal  of  one  of  his  journeys  to  the  interior.  From 
these  we  may  give  a  few  extracts.  Passing  over  his  rather 
full  and  detailed  account  of  Saulteaux  Indians  of  this  region, 
we  find  that  he  speaks  in  a  Journal  which  is  in  a  very  damaged 
condition,  of  his  visit  to  Osnaburgh  Fort,  a  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  fort  built  in  1786,  and  of  his  decision  to  send  a  party 
to  trade  in  the  interior.  There  is  abundant  evidence  of  the 
great  part  played  by  strong  drink  at  this  time  in  the  fur 
country. 

"  Cotton  Shirt,  a  haughty  Indian  chief,  has  always  been  very 
faithful  to  me  these  several  years  past.  He  is,  without  ex- 
ception, the  best  hunter  in  the  whole  department,  and  passes 
as  having  in  consequence  great  influence  over  me.  One  of  his 
elder  brothers  spoke  next  and  said  that  he  was  now  grown  up 
to  a  man  ;  that '  his  fort/  as  he  calls  Osnaburgh,  was  too  far 
off  for  the  winter  trade  ;  that  if  I  left  anyone  here,  he  would 
come  to  them  with  winter  skins  ;  he  could  not  live  without 
getting  drunk  three  or  four  times  at  least,  but  that  I  must 
leave  a  clerk  to  deal  with  him,  as  he  was  above  trading  with 
any  young  under-strappers.  I  told  him  that  if  I  consented 
to  leave  a  person  here,  I  would  leave  one  that  had  both  sense 
and  knowledge  enough  to  know  how  to  use  him  well,  as  also 
any  other  great  man.  This  Indian  had  been  spoiled  by  the 
H.  B.  people  at  Osnaburgh  Fort,  where  we  may  consider  him 
master.  He  had  been  invited  to  dine  there  last  spring/' 

"  This  great  English  partisan,  a  few  weeks  ago,  had  his  nose 
bit  off  by  his  son-in-law  at  the  door  of  what  he  calls  '  his  fort/ 
He  is  not  yet  cured,  and  says  that  a  great  man  like  him  must 
not  get  angry  or  take  any  revenge,  especially  when  he  stands 
in  awe  of  the  one  who  ill-used  him,  for  there  is  nothing 
an  Indian  will  not  do  rather  than  admit  himself  to  be  a 
coward/' 

"  My  canoe  was  very  much  hampered ;  I  put  a  man  and  his 
wife  in  the  small  canoe  and  embarked  in  the  other  small  canoe 
with  my  guides,  after  giving  some  liquor  to  the  old  man  and 


184  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

his  sons,  who  must  remain  here  to-day  to  try  and  pack  all  their 
three  canoes.  We  went  on  as  well  as  we  could  against  a  cold 
head  wind  till  the  big  canoe  got  on  a  stone  which  nearly  upset 
her  and  tore  a  piece  two  feet  square  out  of  her  bottom.  She 
filled  immediately  and  the  men  and  goods  were  all  in  danger 
of  going  to  the  bottom  before  they  reached  the  shore  ;  not- 
withstanding their  efforts,  she  sank  in  three  feet  of  water.  We 
hastened  to  get  everything  out  of  her,  but  my  sugar  and  their 
molasses  were  damaged,  but  worse  than  all,  my  powder,  which 
I  immediately  examined,  was  considerably  damaged." 

"  Having  decided  to  establish  a  fort,  we  all  set  to  work  ; 
four  men  to  build,  one  to  square  boards  for  the  doors,  timber 
for  the  floors,  and  shelves  for  the  shops,  the  two  others  to 
attend  the  rest.  .  .  .  There  are  now  eight  Indians  here,  all 
drunk  and  very  troublesome  to  my  neighbour,  who,  I  believe, 
is  as  drunk  as  themselves  ;  they  are  all  very  civil  to  me,  and  so 
they  may,  for  I  am  giving  them  plenty  to  drink,  without  getting 
anything  from  them  as  yet." 

"  This  man  (an  Indian  from  Red  Lake)  tells  me  that  the 
English  (H.  B.  Co.),  the  X  Y,  and  Mr.  Adhemar  (a  free  trader) 
were  striving  who  would  squander  the  most  and  thereby  please 
the  Indians  best,  but  the  consequence  will  be  that  the  Indians 
will  get  all  they  want  for  half  the  value  and  laugh  at  them  all, 
in  the  end.  He  told  me  that  an  Indian,  who  I  know  very  well 
to  have  no  influence  on  anyone  but  himself,  got  five  kegs  of 
mixt  high  wines  to  himself  alone  between  the  three  houses  and 
took  200  skins  credit ;  that  all  the  Indians  were  fifteen  days 
without  getting  sober.  I  leave  it  to  any  rational  being  to  Judge 
what  that  Indian's  skins  will  cost." 

"  Another  circumstance  which  will  tend  to  injure  the  trade 
very  much,  so  long  as  we  have  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
against  us,  is  the  premium  they  allow  every  factor  or  master 
on  whatever  number  of  skins  they  obtain.  Those  people  do 
not  care  at  what  price  they  buy  or  whether  their  employes 
gain  by  them,  so  long  as  they  have  their  premium,  which  sets 
them  in  opposition  to  one  another  almost  as  much  as  they  are 
to  us.  The  honourable  Hudson's  Bay  Company  proprietors 
very  little  knew  their  own  interest  when  they  first  allowed  this 
interest  to  their  '  officers/  as  they  call  them,  as  it  certainly  had 


THE  LORDS  OF  THE  LAKES  AND  FORESTS    185 

not  the  desired  effect,  for,  if  it  added  some  to  their  exertions,  it 
led  in  a  great  degree  to  the  squandering  of  their  goods,  as  they 
are  in  general  both  needy  and  selfish." 

PETER   GRANT,    THE   HISTORIOGRAPHER. 

While  many  journals  and  sketches  were  forwarded  to  Mr. 
Roderick  McKenzie,  none  of  them  were  of  so  high  a  character 
in  completeness  and  style  as  that  of  Mr.  Peter  Grant  on  the 
Saulteaux  Indians.  Peter  Grant,  as  quite  a  young  man  at  the 
age  of  twenty,  joined  the  North-West  Company  in  1784.  Seven 
years  afterward  he  had  become  a  partner,  had  charge  of  Rainy 
Lake  district,  and  afterward  that  of  the  Red  River  department. 
His  sketch  of  the  Indians  marks  him  as  a  keen  observer  and  a 
facile  writer.  Some  of  his  descriptions  are  excellent  :— 

' '  The  fruits  found  in  this  country  are  the  wild  plum,  a  small 
sort  of  wild  cherry,  wild  currants  of  different  kinds,  goose- 
berries, strawberries,  raspberries,  brambleberries,  blackberries, 
choke  cherries,  wild  grapes,  sand  cherries,  a  delicious  fruit 
which  grows  on  a  small  shrub  near  sandy  shores,  and  another 
blueberry,  a  fine  fruit  not  larger  than  a  currant,  tasting  much 
like  a  pear  and  growing  on  a  small  tree  about  the  size  of  a 
willow.  (No  doubt  the  Saskatoon  berry. — ED.)  In  the  swamp 
you  find  two  kinds  of  cranberries.  Hazel  nuts,  but  of  very 
inferior  quality,  grow  near  the  banks  of  the  rivers  and  lakes. 
A  kind  of  wild  rice  grows  spontaneously  in  the  small  muddy 
creeks  and  bays." 

"The  North- West  Company's  canoes,  manned  with  five 
men,  carry  about  3,000  Ibs. ;  they  seldom  draw  more  than 
eighteen  inches  of  water  and  go  generally  at  the  rate  of  six 
miles  an  hour  in  calm  weather.  When  arrived  at  a  portage, 
the  bowman  instantly  jumps  in  the  water  to  prevent  the  canoe 
from  touching  the  bottom,  while  the  others  tie  their  slings  to 
the  packages  in  the  canoe  and  swing  them  on  their  backs  to 
carry  over  the  portage.  The  bowman  and  the  steersman 
carry  their  canoe,  a  duty  from  which  the  middle  men  are 
exempt.  The  whole  is  conducted  with  astonishing  expedition, 
a  necessary  consequence  of  the  enthusiasm  which  always 
attends  their  long  and  perilous  voyages.  It  is  pleasing  to  see 
them,  when  the  weather  is  calm  and  serene,  paddling  in  their 


186  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

canoes,  singing  in  chorus  their  simple,  melodious  strains,  and 
keeping  exact  time  with  their  paddles,  which  effectually  be- 
guiles their  labours.  When  they  arrive  at  a  rapid,  the  guide 
or  foreman's  business  is  to  explore  the  waters  previous  to  their 
running  down  with  their  canoes,  and,  according  to  the  height 
of  the  water,  they  either  lighten  the  canoe  by  taking  out  part 
of  the  cargo  and  carry  it  overland,  or  run  down  the  whole  load/' 

Speaking  of  the  Saulteaux,  Grant  says,  "  The  Saulteaux  are, 
in  general,  of  the  common  stature,  well  proportioned,  though 
inclining  to  a  slender  make,  which  would  indicate  more  agility 
than  strength.  Their  complexion  is  a  whitish  cast  of  the 
copper  colour,  their  hair  black,  long,  straight,  and  of  a  very 
strong  texture,  the  point  of  the  nose  rather  flat,  and  a  certain 
fulness  in  the  lips,  but  not  sufficient  to  spoil  the  appearance 
of  the  mouth.  The  teeth,  of  a  beautiful  ivory  white,  are 
regular,  well  set,  and  seldom  fail  them  even  in  the  most  ad- 
vanced period  of  life  ;  their  cheeks  are  high  and  rather  promi- 
nent, their  eyes  black  and  lively,  their  countenance  is  generally 
pleasant,  and  the  symmetry  of  their  features  is  such  as  to 
constitute  what  can  be  called  handsome  faces. 

"  Their  passions,  whether  of  a  benevolent  or  mischievous 
tendency,  are  always  more  violent  than  ours.  I  believe  this 
has  been  found  to  be  the  case  with  all  barbarous  nations  who 
never  cultivate  the  mind  ;  hence  the  cruelties  imputed  to 
savages,  in  general,  towards  their  enemies.  Though  these 
people  cannot  be  acquitted  from  some  degree  of  that  ferocious 
barbarity  which  characterizes  the  savages,  they  are,  however, 
free  from  that  deliberate  cruelty  which  has  been  so  often  im- 
puted to  other  barbarous  natives.  They  are  content  to  kill 
and  scalp  their  enemy,  and  never  reserve  a  prisoner  for  the 
refined  tortures  of  a  lingering  and  cruel  death/' 

11  The  Saulteaux  have,  properly  speaking,  no  regular  system 
of  government  and  but  a  very  imperfect  idea  of  the  different 
ranks  of  society  so  absolutely  necessary  in  all  civilized  coun- 
tries. Their  leading  men  or  chief  magistrates  are  petty 
chiefs,  whose  dignity  is  hereditary,  but  whose  authority  is  con- 
fined within  the  narrow  circle  of  their  own  particular  tribe  or 
relatives.  There  are  no  established  laws  to  enforce  obedience  ; 
all  is  voluntary,  and  yet,  such  is  their  confidence  and  respect 


THE  LORDS  OF  THE  LAKES  AND  FORESTS    187 

for  their  chiefs,  that  instances  of  mutiny  or  disobedience  to 
orders  are  very  rare  among  them. 

"  As  to  religion,  Gitche  Manitou,  or  the  '  Master  of  Life/ 
claims  the  first  rank  in  their  devotion.  To  him  they  attri- 
bute the  creation  of  the  heavens,  of  the  waters,  and  of  that 
portion  of  the  earth  beyond  the  sea  from  which  white  people 
come.  He  is  also  the  author  of  life  and  death,  taking  pleasure 
in  promoting  the  happiness  of  the  virtuous,  and  having,  like- 
wise, the  power  of  punishing  the  wicked.  Wiskendjac  is  next 
in  power.  He  is  said  to  be  the  creator  of  all  the  Indian  tribes, 
the  country  they  inhabit  and  all  it  contains.  The  last  of 
their  deities  is  called  Matchi-Manitou,  or  the  '  Bad  Spirit/ 
He  is  the  author  of  evil,  but  subject  to  the  control  of  the  Gitche 
Manitou.  Though  he  is  justly  held  in  great  detestation,  it  is 
thought  good  policy  to  smooth  his  anger  by  singing  and  beating 
the  drum. 

"  When  life  is  gone,  the  body  of  the  dead  is  addressed  by 
some  friend  of  the  deceased  in  a  long  speech,  in  which  he  begs  of 
him  to  take  courage,  and  pursue  his  journey  to  the  Great 
Meadow,  observing  that  all  his  departed  friends  and  relations 
are  anxiously  waiting  to  receive  him,  and  that  his  surviving 
friends  will  soon  follow. 

' '  The  body  is  then  decently  dressed  and  wrapped  in  a  new 
blanket,  with  new  shoes,  garnished  and  painted  with  vermilion, 
on  the  feet.  It  is  kept  one  night  in  the  lodge,  and  is  next  day 
buried  in  the  earth.  After  burial  they  either  raise  a  pole  of 
wood  over  the  grave,  or  enclose  it  with  a  fence.  At  the  head 
of  the  grave  a  small  post  is  erected,  on  which  they  carve  the 
particular  mark  of  the  tribe  to  whom  the  deceased  belonged. 
The  bodies  of  some  of  their  most  celebrated  chiefs  are  raised 
upon  a  high  scaffold,  with  flags  flying,  and  the  scalps  of  their 
enemies.  It  is  customary  with  their  warriors,  at  the  funeral 
of  their  great  men,  to  strike  the  post  and  relate  all  their  martial 
achievements,  as  they  do  in  the  war  dance,  and  their  funeral 
ceremonies  generally  conclude  by  a  feast  round  the  grave." 

Grant,  in  1794,  built  the  post  on  the  Assiniboine  at  the  mouth 
of  Shell  River,  and  five  years  afterward  was  in  charge  of  the 
fort  on  the  Rainy  Lake.  About  the  same  time  he  erected  a 
post,  probably  the  first  on  the  Red  River,  in  the  neighbourhood 


i88  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

of  the  present  village  of  St.  Vincent,  near  49°  N.  Lat.,  opposite 
Pembina.  He  seems  to  have  been  in  the  Indian  country  in 
1804,  and,  settling  in  Lower  Canada,  died  at  Lachine  in  1848, 
at  the  grand  old  age  of  eighty-four. 

Thus  have  we  sought  to  sketch,  from  their  own  writings, 
pictures  of  the  lords  of  the  fur  trade.  They  were  a  remarkable 
body  of  men.  Great  as  financiers,  marvellous  as  explorers, 
facile  as  traders,  brave  in  their  spirits,  firm  and  yet  tactful 
in  their  management  of  the  Indians,  and,  except  during  the 
short  period  from  1800-1804,  anxious  for  the  welfare  of  the 
Red  men.  Looking  back,  we  wonder  at  their  daring  and 
loyalty,  and  can  well  say  with  Washington  Irving, ' '  The  feudal 
state  of  Fort  William  is  at  an  end  ;  its  council  chamber  is  silent 
and  desolate  ;  its  banquet-hall  no  longer  echoes  to  the  auld 
world  ditty ;  the  lords  of  the  lakes  and  forests  have  passed 
away." 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

THE   IMPULSE   OF  UNION. 

North-West  and  X  Y  Companies  unite — Recalls  the  Homeric  period — 
Feuds  forgotten — Men  perform  prodigies — The  new  fort  re- 
christened — Vessel  from  Michilimackinac — The  old  canal — Wills 
builds  Fort  Gibraltar— A  lordly  sway — The  "  Beaver  Club  " — 
Sumptuous  table — Exclusive  society — "  Fortitude  in  Distress  " — 
Political  leaders  in  Lower  Canada. 

To  the  termination  of  the  great  conflict  between  the  North- 
West  and  the  X  Y  Companies  we  have  already  referred.  The 
death  of  Simon  McTavish  removed  a  difficulty  and  served  to 
unite  the  traders.  The  experience  and  standing  of  the  old 
Company  and  the  zeal  and  vigour  of  the  new  combined  to 
inspire  new  hope. 

Great  plans  were  matured  for  meeting  the  opposition  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  and  extending  the  trade  of  the 
Company.  The  explorations  of  David  Thompson  and  Simon 
Fraser,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  produced  such  great  results  in 
New  Caledonia,  while  planned  before,  were  now  carried  forward 
with  renewed  vigour,  the  enterprise  of  the  Nor '-Westers  being 
the  direct  result  of  the  union.  The  heroic  deeds  of  these  ex- 
plorers recall  to  us  the  adventurous  times  of  the  Homeric 
period,  when  men  performed  prodigies  and  risked  their  lives 
for  glory.  The  explanation  of  this  hearty  co-operation  was 
that  the  old  and  new  Companies  were  very  closely  allied. 
Brothers  and  cousins  had  been  in  opposite  camps,  not  because 
they  disliked  each  other,  but  because  their  leaders  could  not 
agree.  Now  the  feuds  were  forgotten,  and,  with  the  enthu- 
siasm of  their  Celtic  natures,  they  would  attempt  great  things. 

The  "  New  Fort,"  as  it  had  been  called,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Kaministiquia,  was  now  re -christened,  and  the  honoured  name 

189 


igo  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

of  the  chieftain  McGillivray  was  given  to  this  great  depot — 
Fort  William. 

It  became  a  great  trading  centre,  and  the  additions  required 
to  accommodate  the  increased  volume  of  business  and  the 
greater  number  of  employes,  were  cheerfully  made  by  the 
united  Company. 

Standing  within  the  great  solitudes  of  Thunder  Bay,  Fort 
William  became  as  celebrated  in  the  annals  of  the  North-West 
Company,  as  York  or  Albany  had  been  in  the  history  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

A  vessel  came  up  from  Lake  Erie,  bringing  supplies,  and, 
calling  at  Michilimackinac,  reached  the  Sault  Ste.  Marie. 
Boats  which  had  come  down  the  canal,  built  to  avoid  the  St. 
Mary  Rapids,  here  met  this  vessel.  From  the  St.  Mary  River 
up  to  Fort  William  a  schooner  carried  cargoes,  and  increased 
the  profits  of  the  trade,  while  it  protected  many  from  the 
dangers  of  the  route.  The  whole  trade  was  systematized, 
and  the  trading  houses,  duplicated  as  they  had  been  at  many 
points,  were  combined,  and  the  expenses  thus  greatly  reduced. 

As  soon  as  the  Company  could  fully  lay  its  plans,  it  deter- 
mined to  take  hold  in  earnest  of  the  Red  River  district. 
Accordingly  we  see  that,  under  instructions  from  John 
McDonald,  of  Garth,  a  bourgeois  named  John  Wills,  who,  we 
find,  had  been  one  of  the  partners  of  the  X  Y  Company,  erected 
at  the  Junction  of  the  Red  and  Assiniboine  Rivers,  on  the 
point  'of  land,  a  fort  called  Fort  Gibraltar.  Wills  was  a  year 
in  building  it,  having  under  him  twenty  men.  The  stockade 
of  this  fort  was  made  of  "  oak  trees  split  in  two."  The 
wooden  picketing  was  from  twelve  to  fifteen  feet  high.  The 
following  is  a  list  of  buildings  enclosed  in  it,  with  some  of  their 
dimensions.  There  were  eight  houses  in  all ;  the  residence 
of  the  bourgeois,  sixty-four  feet  in  length  ;  two  houses  for  the 
servants,  respectively  thirty-six  and  twenty-eight  feet  long ; 
one  store  thirty-two  feet  long ;  a  blacksmith's  shop,  stable, 
kitchen,  and  an  ice-house.  On  the  top  of  the  ice-house  a 
watch-tower  (guerite)  was  built.  John  Wills  continued  to  live 
in  this  fort  up  to  the  time  of  his  death  a  few  years  later. 
Such  was  the  first  building,  so  far  as  we  know,  erected  on  the 
site  of  the  City  of  the  Plains,  and  which  was  followed  first 


THE   IMPULSE    OF    UNION  191 

by  Fort  Douglas  and  then  by  Fort  Garry,  the  chief  fort  in  the 
interior  of  Rupert's  Land. 

It  was  to  this  period  in  the  history  of  the  United  Company 
that  Washington  Irving  referred  when  he  said  :  ' '  The  partners 
held  a  lordly  sway  over  the  wintry  lakes  and  boundless  forests 
of  the  Canadas  almost  equal  to  that  of  the  East  India  Company 
over  the  voluptuous  climes  and  magnificent  realms  of  the 
Orient/' 

Some  years  before  this,  a  very  select  organization  had  been 
formed  among  the  fur  traders  in  Montreal.  It  was  known  as 
the  "  Beaver  Club."  The  conditions  of  the  membership  were 
very  strict.  They  were  that  the  candidate  should  have  spent 
a  period  of  service  in  the  "  upper  country,"  and  have  obtained 
the  unanimous  vote  of  the  members.  The  gatherings  of  the 
Club  were  very  notable.  At  their  meetings  they  assembled  to 
recall  the  prowess  of  the  old  days,  the  dangers  of  the  rapids, 
the  miraculous  deliverances  accomplished  by  their  canoe  men, 
the  disastrous  accidents  they  had  witnessed. 

Their  days  of  feasting  were  long  remembered  by  the  in- 
habitants of  Montreal  after  the  club  had  passed  away.  The 
sumptuous  table  of  the  Club  was  always  open  to  those  of  rank 
or  distinction  who  might  visit  Montreal,  and  the  approval  of 
the  Club  gave  the  entry  to  the  most  exclusive  society  of 
Montreal. 

Still  may  be  met  with  in  Montreal  pieces  of  silverware  and 
glassware  which  were  formerly  the  property  of  the  "  Beaver 
Club,"  and  even  large  gold  medals  bearing  the  motto,  "  Forti- 
tude in  Distress,"  used  by  the  members  of  the  Club  on  their 
days  of  celebration. 

It  was  at  this  period  that  the  power  of  the  fur  trading 
magnates  seemed  to  culminate,  and  their  natural  leadership  of 
the  French  Canadians  being  recognized  in  the  fur  trade,  many 
of  the  partners  became  political  leaders  in  the  affairs  of  Lower 
Canada.  The  very  success  of  the  new  Company,  however, 
stirred  up,  as  we  shall  see,  opposition  movements  of  a  much 
more  serious  kind  than  they  had  ever  had  to  meet  before. 
Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie's  book  in  1801  had  awakened  much 
interest  in  Britain  and  now  stimulated  the  movement  by  Lord 
Selkirk  which  led  to  the  absorption  of  the  North-West 


192  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Company.  The  social  and  commercial  standing  of  the 
partners  started  a  movement  in  the  United  States  which 
aimed  at  wresting  from  British  hands  the  territory  of  New 
Caledonia,  which  the  energy  of  the  North- West  Company  of 
explorers  had  taken  possession  of  for  the  British  crown. 

It  will,  however,  be  to  the  glory  of  the  North- West  Com- 
pany that  these  powerful  opposition  movements  were  mostly 
rendered  efficient  by  the  employment  of  men  whom  the 
Nor5 -Westers  had  trained ;  and  the  methods  of  trade,  borrowed 
from  them  by  these  opponents,  were  those  continued  in  the 
after  conduct  of  the  fur  trade  that  grew  up  in  Rupert's  Land 
and  the  Indian  territories  beyond. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

THE   ASTOR   FUR   COMPANY. 

Old  John  Jacob  Astor — American  Fur  Company — The  Missouri  Com- 
pany— A  line  of  posts — Approaches  the  Russians — Negotiates 
with  Nor' -Westers — Fails — Four  North-West  officials  join  Astor — 
Songs  of  the  voyageurs — True  Britishers — Voyage  of  the  Tonquin 
— Rollicking  Nor' -Westers  in  Sandwich  Islands — Astoria  built — 
David  Thompson  appears — Terrible  end  of  the  Tonquin — Astor's 
overland  expedition — Washington  Irving's  "  Astoria,  a  romance  " 
— The  Beaver  rounds  the  Cape — McDougall  and  his  small-pox 
phial — The  Beaver  sails  for  Canton. 

AMONG  those  who  came  to  Montreal  to  trade  with  the  Nor'- 
Westers  and  to  receive  their  hospitality  was  a  German  mer- 
chant of  New  York,  named  John  Jacob  Astor.  This  man, 
who  is  the  ancestor  of  the  distinguished  family  of  Astors  at 
the  present  time  in  New  York,  came  over  from  London  to  the 
New  World  and  immediately  began  to  trade  in  furs.  For 
several  years  Astor  traded  in  Montreal,  and  shipped  the  furs 
purchased  to  London,  as  there  was  a  law  against  exporting 
from  British  possessions.  After  Jay's  treaty  of  amity  and 
commerce  (1794)  this  restriction  was  removed,  and  Astor  took 
Canadian  furs  to  the  United  States,  and  even  exported  them  to 
China,  where  high  prices  ruled. 

While  Astor's  ambition  led  him  to  aim  at  controlling  the  fur 
trade  in  the  United  States,  the  fact  that  the  western  posts, 
such  as  Detroit  and  Michilimackinac,  had  not  been  surrendered 
to  the  United  States  till  after  Jay's  treaty,  had  allowed  the  Brit- 
ish traders  of  these  and  other  posts  of  the  West  to  strengthen 
themselves.  Such  daring  traders  as  Murdoch  Cameron,  Dick- 
son,  Fraser,  and  Rolette  could  not  be  easily  beaten  on  the 
ground  where  they  were  so  familiar,  and  where  they  had  gained 
such  an  ascendancy  over  the  Indians.  The  Mackinaw  traders 
o  i93 


194  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

were  too  strong  for  Astor,  and  the  hope  of  overcoming  them 
through  the  agency  of  the  "  American  Fur  Company,"  which 
he  had  founded  in  1809,  had  to  be  given  up  by  him.  What 
could  not  be  accomplished  by  force  could,  however,  be  gained 
by  negotiation,  and  so  two  years  afterward,  with  the  help  of 
certain  partners  from  among  the  Nor'-Westers  in  Montreal, 
Astor  brought  out  the  Mackinaw  traders  (1811),  and  estab- 
lished what  was  called  the  "  South- West  Company/' 

During  these  same  years,  the  St.  Louis  merchants  organized 
a  company  to  trade  upon  the  Missouri  and  Nebraska  Rivers. 
This  was  known  as  the  Missouri  Company,  and  with  its  250 
men  it  pushed  its  trade,  until  in  1808,  one  of  its  chief  traders 
crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  built  a  fort  on  the  western 
slope.  This  was,  however,  two  years  afterward  given  up  on 
account  of  the  hostility  of  the  natives.  A  short  time  after  this, 
the  Company  passed  out  of  existence,  leaving  the  field  to  the 
enterprising  merchant  of  New  York,  who,  in  1810,  organized 
his  well-known  "  Pacific  Fur  Company." 

During  these  eventful  years,  the  resourceful  Astor  was, 
with  the  full  knowledge  of  the  American  Government,  steadily 
advancing  toward  gaining  a  monopoly  of  the  fur  trade  of  the 
United  States.  Jonathan  Carver,  a  British  officer,  had,  more 
than  thirty  years  before  this,  in  company  with  a  British 
Member  of  Parliament  named  Whitworth,  planned  a  route 
across  the  continent.  Had  not  the  American  Revolution 
commenced  they  would  have  built  a  fort  at  Lake  Pepin  in 
Minnesota,  gone  up  a  tributary  of  the  Mississippi  to  the  West, 
till  they  could  cross,  as  they  thought  would  be  possible, 
to  the  Missouri,  and  ascending  it  have  reached  the  Rocky 
Mountain  summit.  At  this  point  they  expected  to  come  upon 
a  river,  which  they  called  the  Oregon,  that  would  take  them 
to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

The  plan  projected  by  Carver  was  actually  carried  out  by  the 
well-known  explorers  Lewis  and  Clark  in  1804-6.  Astor's 
penetrating  mind  now  saw  the  situation  clearly.  He  would 
erect  a  line  of  trading  posts  up  the  Missouri  River  and  across 
the  Rockies  to  the  Columbia  River  on  the  Pacific  Coast  and 
while  those  on  the  east  of  the  Rockies  would  be  supplied  from 
St.  Louis,  he  would  send  ships  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia, 


THE   ASTOR    FUR    COMPANY  195 

and  provide  for  the  posts  on  the  Pacific  slope  from  the  West. 
With  great  skill  Astor  made  approaches  to  the  Russian  Fur 
Company  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  offering  his  ships  to  supply 
their  forts  with  all  needed  articles,  and  he  thus  established  a 
good  feeling  between  himself  and  the  Russians. 

The  only  other  element  of  danger  to  the  mind  of  Astor  was 
the  opposition  of  the  North-West  Company  on  the  Pacific  v 
Coast.  He  knew  that  for  years  the  Montreal  merchants  had 
had  their  eye  on  the  region  that  their  partner  Sir  Alexander 
Mackenzie,  had  discovered.  Moreover,  their  agents,  Thomp- 
son, Fraser,  Stuart,  and  Finlay  the  younger,  were  trading 
beyond  the  summit  of  the  Rockies  in  New  Caledonia,  but  the 
fact  that  they  were  farther  north  held  out  some  hope  to  Astor 
that  an  arrangement  might  be  made  with  them.  He  accord- 
ingly broached  the  subject  to  the  North-West  Company  and 
proposed  a  combination  with  them  similar  to  that  in  force  in 
the  co-operation  in  the  South- West  Company,  viz.  that  they 
should  take  a  one -third  interest  in  the  Pacific  Fur  Company. 
After  certain  correspondence,  the  North- West  Company  de- 
clined the  offer,  no  doubt  hoping  to  forestall  Astor  in  his  occu- 
pation of  the  Columbia.  They  then  gave  orders  to  David 
Thompson  to  descend  the  Columbia,  whose  upper  waters  he 
had  already  occupied,  and  he  would  have  done  this  had  not  a 
mutiny  taken  place  among  his  men,  which  made  his  arrival 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  a  few  months  too  late. 

Astor's  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  North-West  Com- 
pany and  its  numerous  employes  stood  him  in  good  stead  in 
his  project  of  forming  a  company.  After  full  negotiations  he 
secured  the  adhesion  to  his  scheme  of  a  number  of  well-known 
Nor' -Westers.  Prominent  among  these  was  Alexander  McKay, 
who  was  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie's  most  trusted  associate  in 
the  great  journey  of  1793  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  McKay  had 
become  a  partner  of  the  North- West  Company,  and  left  it 
to  join  the  Pacific  Fur  Company.  Most  celebrated  as  being 
in  charge  of  the  Astor  enterprise  on  the  coast  was  Duncan 
McDougall,  who  also  left  the  North-West  Company  to  embark 
in  Astor's  undertaking.  Two  others,  David  Stuart  and  his 
nephew  Robert  Stuart,  made  the  four  partners  of  the  new 
Company  who  were  to  embark  from  New  York  with  the 


196  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

purpose   of  doubling   the  Cape  and  reaching  the  mouth  of 
the  Columbia. 

A  company  of  clerks  and  engages  had  been  obtained  in 
Montreal,  and  the  party  leaving  Canada  went  in  their  great 
canoe  up  Lake  Champlain,  took  it  over  the  portage  to  the 
Hudson,  and  descended  that  river  to  New  York.  They  trans- 
ferred the  picturesque  scene  so  often  witnessed  on  the  Ottawa 
to  the  sleepy  banks  of  the  Hudson  River,  and  with  emblems 
flying,  and  singing  songs  of  the  voyageurs,  surprised  the 
spectators  along  the  banks.  Arrived  at  New  York  the  men 
with  bravado  expressed  themselves  as  ready  to  endure 
hardships.  As  Irving  puts  it,  they  declared  "  they  could  live 
hard,  lie  hard,  sleep  hard,  eat  dogs — in  short,  endure  anything/' 

But  these  partners  and  men  had  much  love  for  their  own 
country  and  little  regard  to  the  new  service  into  which  desire 
for  gain  had  led  them  to  embark.  It  was  found  out  afterwards 
that  two  of  the  partners  had  called  upon  the  British  Ambassa- 
dor in  New  York,  had  revealed  to  him  the  whole  scheme  of  Mr. 
Astor,  and  enquired  whether,  as  British  subjects,  they  might 
embark  in  the  enterprise.  The  reply  of  the  diplomat  assured 
them  of  their  full  liberty  in  the  matter.  Astor  also  required  of 
the  employes  that  they  should  become  naturalized  citizens  of 
the  United  States.  They  professed  to  have  gone  through  the 
ceremony  required,  but  it  is  contended  that  they  never  really 
did  so. 

The  ship  in  which  the  party  was  to  sail  was  the  Tonquin, 
commanded  by  a  Captain  Thorn,  a  somewhat  stern  officer,  with 
whom  the  fur  traders  had  many  conflicts  on  their  outbound 
journey.  The  report  having  gone  abroad  that  a  British  cruiser 
from  Halifax  would  come  down  upon  the  Tonquin  and  arrest 
the  Canadians  on  board  her,  led  to  the  application  being 
made  to  the  United  States  frigate  Constitution  to  give  the 
vessel  protection.  On  September  10th,  1810,  the  Tonquin 
with  her  convoy  put  out  and  sailed  for  the  Southern  Main. 

Notwithstanding  the  constant  irritation  between  the  captain 
and  his  fur  trading  passengers,  the  vessel  went  bravely  on  her 
way.  After  doubling  Cape  Horn  on  Christmas  Day,  they 
reached  the  Sandwich  Islands  in  February,  and  after  paying 
visits  of  ceremony  to  the  king,  obtained  the  necessary  supplies 


THE   ASTOR   FUR    COMPANY  197 

of  hogs,  fruits,  vegetables,  and  water  from  the  inhabitants, 
and  also  engaged  some  twenty-four  of  the  islanders,  or  Kan- 
akas, as  they  are  called,  to  go  as  employes  to  the  Columbia. 

Like  a  number  of  rollicking  lads,  the  Nor'-Westers  made  very 
free  with  the  natives,  to  the  disgust  of  Captain  Thorn.  He 
writes  : — "  They  sometimes  dress  in  red  coats  and  otherwise 
very  fantastically,  and  collecting  a  number  of  ignorant  natives 
around  them,  tell  them  they  are  the  great  chiefs  of  the  North- 
West.  .  .  .  then  dressing  in  Highland  plaids  and  kilts,  and 
making  bargains  with  the  natives,  with  presents  of  rum,  wine, 
or  anything  that  is  at  hand." 

On  February  28th  the  Tonquin  set  sail  from  the  Sandwich 
Islands.  The  discontent  broke  out  again,  and  the  fur  traders 
engaged  in  a  mock  mutiny,  which  greatly  alarmed  the  sus- 
picious captain.  They  spoke  to  each  other  in  Gaelic,  had  long 
conversations,  and  the  captain  kept  an  ever-watchful  eye  upon 
them  ;  but  on  March  22nd  they  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia  River. 

McKay  and  McDougall,  as  senior  partners,  disembarked, 
visited  the  village  of  the  Chinooks,  and  were  warmly  welcomed 
by  Comcomly,  the  chief  of  that  tribe.  The  chief  treated  them 
hospitably  and  encouraged  their  settling  in  his  neighbourhood. 
Soon  they  had  chosen  a  site  for  their  fort,  and  with  busy  hands 
they  cut  down  trees,  cleared  away  thickets,  and  erected  a 
residence,  stone-house,  and  powder  magazine,  which  was  not, 
however,  at  first  surrounded  with  palisades.  In  honour  of  the 
promoter  of  their  enterprise,  they  very  naturally  called  the 
new  settlement  Astoria. 

As  soon  as  the  new  fort  had  assumed  something  like  order, 
the  Tonquin,  according  to  the  original  design,  was  despatched 
up  the  coast  to  trade  with  the  Indians  for  furs.  Alexander 
McKay  took  charge  of  the  trade,  and  sought  to  make  the  most 
of  the  honest  but  crusty  captain.  The  vessel  sailed  on  July 
5th,  1811,  on  what  proved  to  be  a  disastrous  journey. 

As  soon  as  she  was  gone  reports  began  to  reach  the  traders 
at  Astoria  that  a  body  of  white  men  were  building  a  fort  far  up 
the  Columbia.  This  was  serious  news,  for  if  true  it  meant  that 
the  supply  of  furs  looked  for  at  Astoria  would  be  cut  off.  An 
effort  was  made  to  find  out  the  truth  of  the  rumour,  without 


198  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

success,  but  immediately  after  came  definite  information  that 
the  North -West  Company  agents  were  erecting  a  post  at 
Spokane.  We  have  already  seen  that  this  was  none  other 
than  David  Thompson,  the  emissary  of  the  North- West  Com- 
pany, sent  to  forestall  the  building  of  Astor's  fort. 

Though  too  late  to  fulfil  his  mission,  on  July  15th  the 
doughty  astronomer  and  surveyor,  in  his  canoe  manned  by 
eight  men  and  having  the  British  ensign  flying,  stopped  in 
front  of  the  new  fort.  Thompson  was  cordially  received  by 
McDougall,  to  the  no  small  disgust  of  the  other  employes  of 
the  Astor  Company.  After  waiting  for  eight  days,  Thompson, 
having  received  supplies  and  goods  from  McDougall,  started  on 
his  return  Journey.  With  him  journeyed  up  the  river  David 
Stuart,  who,  with  eight  men,  was  proceeding  on  a  fur-trading 
expedition.  Among  his  clerks  was  Alexander  Ross,  who  has 
left  a  veracious  history  of  the  "  First  Settlers  on  the  Oregon." 
Stuart  had  little  confidence  in  Thompson,  and  by  a  device 
succeeded  in  getting  him  to  proceed  on  his  journey  and  leave 
him  to  choose  his  own  site  for  a  fort.  Going  up  to  within  140 
miles  of  the  Spokane  River,  and  at  the  junction  of  the 
Okanagan  and  Columbia,  Stuart  erected  a  temporary  fort  to 
carry  on  his  first  season's  trade. 

In  the  meantime  the  Tonquin  had  gone  on  her  way  up  the 
coast.  The  Indians  were  numerous,  but  were  difficult  to  deal 
with,  being  impudent  and  greedy.  A  number  of  them  had 
come  upon  the  deck  of  the  Tonquin,  and  Captain  Thorn,  being 
wearied  with  their  slowness  in  bargaining  and  fulness  of  wiles, 
had  grown  impatient  with  the  chief  and  had  violently  thrown 
him  over  the  side  of  the  ship.  The  Indians  no  doubt  intended 
to  avenge  this  insult.  Next  morning  early,  a  multitude  of 
canoes  came  about  the  Tonquin  and  many  savages  clambered 
upon  the  deck.  Suddenly  an  attack  was  made  upon  the  fur 
traders.  Alexander  McKay  was  one  of  the  first  to  fall,  being 
knocked  down  by  a  war  club.  Captain  Thorn  fought  desper- 
ately, killing  the  young  chief  of  the  band,  and  many  others,  un- 
til at  last  he  was  overcome  by  numbers.  The  remnant  of  the 
crew  succeeded  in  getting  control  of  the  ship  and,  by  discharg- 
ing some  of  the  deck  guns,  drove  off  the  savages.  Next  morn- 
ing the  ship  was  all  quiet  as  the  Indians  came  about  her.  The 


THE   ASTOR   FUR   COMPANY  199 

ship's  clerk,  Mr.  Lewis,  who  had  been  severely  wounded, 
appeared  on  deck  and  invited  them  on  board.  Soon  the  whole 
deck  was  crowded  by  the  Indians,  who  thought  they  would 
secure  a  prize.  Suddenly  a  dreadful  explosion  took  place. 
The  gunpowder  magazine  had  blown  up,  and  Lewis  and  up- 
ward of  one  hundred  savages  were  hurled  into  eternity.  It  was 
a  fierce  revenge  !  Four  white  men  of  the  crew  who  had  escaped 
in  a  boat  were  captured  and  terribly  tortured  by  the  maddened 
Indian  survivors.  An  Indian  interpreter  alone  was  spared  to 
return  to  Astoria  to  relate  the  tale  of  treachery  and  blood. 

Astor's  plan  involved,  however,  the  sending  of  another  expe- 
dition overland  to  explore  the  country  and  lay  out  his  projected 
chain  of  forts.  In  charge  of  this  party  was  William  P.  Hunt, 
of  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  who  had  been  selected  by  Astor,  as 
being  a  native-born  American,  to  be  next  to  himself  in  author- 
ity in  the  Company.  Hunt  had  no  experience  as  a  fur  trader, 
but  was  a  man  of  decision  and  perseverance.  With  him  was 
closely  associated  Donald  McKenzie,  who  had  been  in  the 
service  of  the  North-West  Company,  but  had  been  induced  to 
join  in  the  partnership  with  Astor. 

Hunt  and  McKenzie  arrived  in  Montreal  on  June  10th,  1811, 
and  engaged  a  number  of  voyageurs  to  accompany  them. 
With  these  in  a  great  canoe  the  party  left  the  church  of  La 
Bonne  Ste.  Anne,  on  Montreal  Island,  and  ascended  the  Ottawa. 
By  the  usual  route  Michilimackinac  was  reached,  and  here 
again  other  members  of  the  party  were  enlisted.  The  party 
was  also  reinforced  by  the  addition  of  a  young  Scotchman  of 
energy  and  ability,  Ramsay  Crooks,  and  with  him  an  experi- 
enced and  daring  Missouri  trader  named  Robert  McLellan. 
At  Mackinaw  as  well  as  at  Montreal  the  influence  of  the  North- 
West  Company  was  so  strong  that  men  engaged  for  the  journey 
were  as  a  rule  those  of  the  poorest  quality.  Thus  were  the 
difficulties  of  the  overland  party  increased  by  the  Falstaffian 
rabble  that  attended  the  well -chosen  leaders. 

The  party  left  Mackinaw,  crossed  to  the  Mississippi,  and 
reached  St.  Louis  in  September. 

At  St.  Louis  the  explorers  came  into  touch  with  the  Missouri 
Company,  of  which  we  have  spoken.  The  same  hidden  opposi- 
tion that  had  met  them  in  Montreal  and  Mackinaw  was  here 


200  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

encountered.  Nothing  was  said,  but  it  was  difficult  to  get 
information,  hard  to  induce  voyageurs  to  join  them,  and  delay 
after  delay  occurred.  Near  the  end  of  October  St.  Louis  was 
left  behind  and  the  Missouri  ascended  for  450  miles  to  a  fort 
Nodowa,  when  the  party  determined  to  winter.  During  the 
winter  Hunt  returned  to  St.  Louis  and  endeavoured  to  enlist 
additional  men  for  his  expedition.  In  this  he  still  had  the 
opposition  of  a  Spaniard,  Manuel  de  Lisa,  who  was  the  leading 
spirit  in  the  Missouri  Company.  After  some  difficulty  Hunt 
engaged  an  interpreter,  Pierre  Dorion,  a  drunken  French  half- 
breed,  who  was,  however,  expert  and  even  accomplished  in  his 
work. 

A  start  was  at  last  made  in  January,  and  Irving  tells  us  of 
the  expedition  meeting  Daniel  Boone,  the  famous  old  hunter 
of  Kentucky,  one  who  gloried  in  keeping  abreast  of  the  farthest 
line  of  the  frontier,  a  trapper  and  hunter.  The  party  went  on 
its  way  ascending  the  river,  and  was  accompanied  by  the  some- 
what disagreeable  companion  Lisa.  At  length  they  reached 
the  country  of  the  Anckaras,  who,  like  the  Parthians  of  old, 
seemed  to  live  on  horseback.  After  a  council  meeting  the 
distrust  of  Lisa  disappeared,  and  a  bargain  was  struck  between 
the  Spaniard  and  the  explorer  by  which  he  would  supply  them 
with  130  horses  and  take  their  boats  in  exchange.  Leaving  in 
August  the  party  went  westward,  keeping  south  at  first  to 
avoid  the  Blackfeet,  and  then,  turning  northward  till  they 
reached  an  old  trading  post  Just  beyond  the  summit. 

The  descent  was  now  to  be  made  to  the  coast,  but  none  of 
them  had  the  slightest  conception  of  the  difficulties  before  them. 
They  divided  themselves  into  four  parties,  under  the  four 
leaders,  McKenzie,  McLellan,  Hunt,  and  Crooks.  The  two 
former  took  the  right  bank,  the  two  latter  the  left  bank  of  the 
river.  For  three  weeks  they  followed  the  rugged  banks  of  this 
stream,  which,  from  its  fierceness,  they  spoke  of  as  the  "  Mad 
River."  Their  provisions  soon  became  exhausted  and  they 
were  reduced  to  the  dire  necessity  of  eating  the  leather  of  their 
shoes.  After  a  separation  of  some  days  the  plan  was  struck 
upon  by  Mr.  Hunt  of  gaining  communication  across  the  river 
by  a  boat  covered  with  horse  skin.  This  failed,  and  the  unfor- 
tunate voyageur  attempting  to  cross  in  it  was  drowned.  After 


THE    ASTOR   FUR    COMPANY  201 

a  time  the  Lewis  River  was  reached.  Trading  off  their  horses, 
McKenzie's  party,  which  was  on  the  right  bank,  obtained 
canoes  from  the  natives,  and  at  length  on  January  18th,  1812, 
this  party  reached  Astoria.  Ross  Cox  says  :  "  Their  concave 
cheeks,  protuberant  bones,  and  tattered  garments  strongly 
indicated  the  dreadful  extent  of  their  privations  ;  but  their 
health  appeared  uninjured  and  their  gastronomic  powers 
unimpaired." 

After  the  disaster  of  the  horse-skin  boat  the  two  parties  lost 
sight  of  one  another.  Mr.  Hunt  had  the  easier  bank  of  the 
river,  and,  falling  in  with  friendly  Indians,  he  delayed  for  ten 
days  and  rested  his  wearied  party.  Though  afterward 
delayed,  Hunt,  with  his  following  of  thirty  men,  one  woman, 
and  two  children,  arrived  at  Astoria,  to  the  great  delight  of  his 
companions,  on  February  15th,  1812. 

Various  accounts  have  been  given  of  the  journey.  Those 
of  Ross  Cox  and  Alexander  Ross  are  the  work  of  actual 
members  of  the  Astor  Company,  though  not  of  the  party  which 
really  crossed.  Washington  Irving's  "Astoria"  is  regarded 
as  a  pleasing  fiction,  and  he  is  very  truly  spoken  of  by  Dr. 
Coues,  the  editor  of  Henry  and  Thompson's  journals,  in  the 
following  fashion  : — "  No  story  of  travel  is  more  familiar  to 
the  public  than  the  tale  told  by  Irving  of  this  adventure, 
because  none  is  more  readable  as  a  romance  founded  upon 
fact.  .  .  .  Irving  plies  his  golden  pen  elastically,  and  from 
it  flow  wit  and  humour,  stirring  scene,  and  startling  in- 
cident, character  to  the  life.  But  he  never  tells  us  where 
those  people  went,  perhaps  for  the  simple  reason  that  he 
never  knew.  He  wafts  us  westward  on  his  strong  plume, 
and  we  look  down  on  those  hapless  Astorians  ;  but  we  might 
as  well  be  ballooning  for  aught  of  exactitude  we  can  make 
of  this  celebrated  itinerary." 

In  October,  1811,  the  second  party  by  sea  left  New  York 
on  the  ship  Beaver,  to  join  the  traders  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia.  Ross  Cox,  who  was  one  of  the  clerks,  gives  a  most 
interesting  account  of  the  voyage  and  of  the  affairs  of  the 
Company.  With  him  were  six  other  cabin  passengers.  The 
ship  was  commanded  by  Captain  Sowles.  The  voyage  was 
on  the  whole  a  prosperous  one,  and  Cape  Horn  was  doubled 


202  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

on  New  Year's  Day,  1812.  More  than  a  month  after,  the 
ship  called  at  Juan  Fernandez,  and  two  months  after  crossed 
the  Equator.  Three  weeks  afterward  she  reached  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  and  on  April  9th,  after  a  further  voyage,  arrived 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia. 

On  arriving  at  Astoria  the  new-comers  had  many  things 
to  see  and  learn,  but  they  were  soon  under  way,  preparing 
for  their  future  work.  There  were  many  risks  in  thus  ven- 
turing away  from  their  fort.  Chief  Trader  McDougall 
had  indeed  found  the  fort  itself  threatened  after  the  disaster 
of  the  Tonquin.  He  had,  however,  boldly  grappled  with 
the  case.  Having  few  of  his  company  to  support  him,  he 
summoned  the  Indans  to  meet  him.  In  their  presence  he 
informed  them  that  he  understood  they  were  plotting  against 
him,  but,  drawing  a  corked  bottle  from  his  pocket,  he  said  : 
11  This  bottle  contains  small-pox.  I  have  but  to  draw  out 
the  cork  and  at  once  you  will  be  seized  by  the  plague."  They 
implored  him  to  spare  them  and  showed  no  more  hostility. 

Such  recitals  as  this,  and  the  sad  story  of  the  Tonquin  related 
to  Ross  Cox  and  his  companions,  naturally  increased  their 
nervousness  as  to  penetrating  the  interior. 

The  Beaver  had  sailed  for  Canton  with  furs,  and  the 
party  of  the  interior  was  organized  with  three  proprietors, 
Ramsay  Crooks,  Robert  McLellan,  and  Robert  Stuart,  who, 
with  eight  men,  were  to  cross  the  mountains  to  St.  Louis. 
At  the  fort  there  remained  Mr.  Hunt,  Duncan  McDougall, 
B.  Clapp,  J.  C.  Halsey,  and  Gabriel  Franehere,  the  last  of 
whom  wrote  an  excellent  account  in  French  of  the  Astor 
Company  affairs. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 
LORD  SELKIRK'S  COLONY. 

Alexander  Mackenzie's  book — Lord  Selkirk  interested — Emigration 
a  boon — Writes  to  Imperial  Government — In  1802  looks  to  Lake 
Winnipeg — Benevolent  project  of  trade — Compelled  to  choose 
Prince  Edward  Island — Opinions  as  to  Hudson's  Bay  Company's 
charter  —  Nor'- Westers  alarmed'-^-  Hudson's  Bay  Company's 
Stock — Purchases  Assiniboia — Advertises  the  new  colony — Reli- 
gion no  disqualification — Sends  first  colony — Troubles  of  the 
project — Arrive  at  York  Factory — The  winter — The  mutiny — 
"  Essence  of  Malt  " — Journey  inland — A  second  party — Third 
party  under  Archibald  Macdonald — From  Helmsdale — The  number 
of  colonists. 

THE  publication  of  his  work  by  Alexander  Mackenzie,  entitled, 
"  Voyages  from  Montreal  through  the  Continent  of  North 
America,  &c.,"  awakened  great  interest  in  the  British  Isles. 
Among  those  who  were  much  influenced  by  it  was  Thomas, 
Earl  of  Selkirk,  a  young  Scottish  nobleman  of  distinguished 
descent  and  disposition.  The  young  Earl  at  once  thought  of 
the  wide  country  described  as  a  fitting  home  for  the  poor  and 
unsuccessful  British  peasantry,  who,  as  we  learn  from  Words- 
worth, were  at  this  time  in  a  most  distressful  state. 

During  his  college  days  the  Earl  of  Selkirk  had  often  visited 
the  Highland  glens  and  crofts,  and  though  himself  a  Southron, 
he  was  so  interested  in  his  picturesque  countrymen  that  he 
learned  the  Gaelic  language.  Not  only  the  sad  condition  of 
Scotland,  but  likewise  the  unsettled  state  of  Ireland,  appealed 
to  his  heart  and  his  patriotic  sympathies.  He  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  emigration  was  the  remedy  for  the  ills  of 
Scotland  and  Ireland  alike. 

Accordingly  we  find  the  energetic  Earl  writing  to  Lord 
Pelham  to  interest  the  British  Government  in  the  matter.  We 
have  before  us  a  letter  with  two  memorials  attached.  This  is 
dated  April  4th,  1802,  and  was  kindly  supplied  the  writer  by 

203 


204  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

the  Colonial  Office.  The  proposals,  after  showing  the  de- 
sirability of  relieving  the  congested  and  dissatisfied  population 
already  described,  go  on  to  speak  of  a  suitable  field  for  the 
settlement  of  the  emigrants.  And  this  we  see  is  the  region 
described  by  Alexander  Mackenzie.  Lord  Selkirk  says  :  "  No 
large  tract  remains  unoccupied  on  the  sea-coast  of  British 
America  except  barren  and  frozen  deserts.  To  find  a  sufficient 
extent  of  good  soil  in  a  temperate  climate  we  must  go  far 
inland.  This  inconvenience  is  not,  however,  an  insurmountable 
obstacle  to  the  prosperity  of  a  colony,  and  appears  to  be  amply 
compensated  by  other  advantages  that  are  to  be  found  in  some 
remote  parts  of  the  British  territory.  At  the  western  extremity 
of  Canada,  upon  the  waters  which  fall  into  Lake  Winnipeg 
and  which  in  the  great  river  of  Port  Nelson  discharge  them- 
selves into  Hudson  Bay,  is  a  country  which  the  Indian  traders 
represent  as  fertile,  and  of  a  climate  far  more  temperate  than 
the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  under  the  same  parallel,  and  not 
more  severe  than  that  of  Germany  or  Poland.  Here,  therefore, 
the  colonists  may,  with  a  moderate  exertion  of  industry,  be 
certain  of  a  comfortable  subsistence,  and  they  may  also  raise 
some  valuable  objects  of  exportation.  .  .  To  a  colony  in 
these  territories  the  channel  of  trade  must  be  the  river  of  Port 
Nelson." 

It  is  exceedingly  interesting,  in  view  of  the  part  afterwards 
played  by  Lord  Selkirk,  to  read  the  following  statement : 
"  The  greatest  impediment  to  a  colony  in  this  quarter  seems 
to  be  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  monopoly,  which  the 
possessors  cannot  be  expected  easily  to  relinquish.  They  may, 
however,  be  amply  indemnified  for  its  abolition  without  any 
burden,  perhaps  even  with  advantage  to  the  revenue/' 

The  letter  then  goes  on  to  state  the  successful  trade  carried 
on  by  the  Canadian  traders,  and  gives  a  scheme  by  which  both 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and  the  North-West  Company  may 
receive  profits  greater  than  those  then  enjoyed,  by  a  plan  of 
issuing  licences,  and  limiting  traders  to  particular  districts. 

Further,  the  proposal  declares  :  "If  these  indefatigable 
Canadians  were  allowed  the  free  navigation  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  they  might,  without  going  so  far  from  Port  Nelson 
as  they  now  go  from  Montreal,  extend  their  traffic  from 


LORD   SELKIRK'S   COLONY  205 

sea  to  sea,  through  the  whole  northern  part  of  America,  and 
send  home  more  than  double  the  value  that  is  now  derived 
from  that  region." 

The  matter  brought  up  in  these  proposals  was  referred  to 
Lord  Buckinghamshire,  Colonial  Secretary,  but  failed  for  the 
time  being,  not  because  of  any  unsuitableness  of  the  country, 
but  "  because  the  prejudices  of  the  British  people  were  so 
strong  against  emigration."  During  the  next  year  Lord  Sel- 
kirk succeeded  in  organizing  a  Highland  emigration  of  not  less 
than  800  souls.  Not  long  before  the  starting  of  the  ships  the 
British  Government  seems  to  have  interfered  to  prevent  this 
large  number  being  led  to  the  region  of  Lake  Winnipeg,  and 
compelled  Lord  Selkirk  to  choose  the  more  accessible  shore  of 
Prince  Edward  Island.  After  settling  his  colonists  on  the 
island,  Lord  Selkirk  visited  Montreal,  where  he  was  well 
received  by  the  magnates  of  the  North-West  Company,  and 
where  his  interest  in  the  far  West  was  increased  by  witnessing, 
as  Astor  also  did  about  the  same  time,  the  large  returns  ob- 
tained by  the  "  lords  of  the  lakes  and  forests." 

Years  went  past,  and  Lord  Selkirk,  unable  to  obtain  the 
assent  of  the  British  Government  to  his  great  scheme  of 
colonizing  the  interior  of  North  America,  at  length  determined 
to  obtain  possession  of  the  territory  wanted  for  his  plans 
through  the  agency  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  About 
the  year  1810  he  began  to  turn  Ms  attention  in  earnest  to  the 
matter. 

With  characteristic  Scottish  caution  he  submitted  the  char- 
ter of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  to  the  highest  legal  author- 
ities in  London,  including  the  names  Romilly,  Holroyd,  Cruise, 
Scarlett,  and  John  Bell.  Their  clear  opinion  was  that  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  legally  able  to  sell  its  territory 
and  to  transfer  the  numerous  rights  bestowed  by  the  charter. 
They  say,  "  We  are  of  opinion  that  the  grant  of  the  soil  con- 
tained in  the  charter  is  good,  and  that  it  will  include  all  the 
country,  the  waters  of  which  run  into  Hudson  Bay,  as  ascer- 
tained by  geographical  observation." 

Lord  Selkirk,  now  fully  satisfied  that  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  was  a  satisfactory  instrument,  .proceeded  to  obtain 
control  of  the  stock  of  the  Company. 


206  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

The  partners  of  the  North-West  Company  learned  of  the 
steps  being  taken  by  Lord  Selkirk  and  became  greatly  alarmed. 
They  were  of  the  opinion  that  the  object  of  Lord  Selkirk  was 
to  make  use  of  his  great  emigration  scheme  to  give  supremacy 
to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  over  its  rivals,  and  to  injure 
the  Nor'-Westers'  fur  trade.  So  far  as  can  be  seen,  Lord 
Selkirk  had  no  interest  in  the  rivalry  that  had  been  going  on 
between  the  Companies  for  more  than  a  generation.  His  first 
aim  was  emigration,  and  this  for  the  purpose  of  relieving  the 
distress  of  many  in  the  British  Isles. 

As  showing  the  mind  of  Lord  Selkirk  in  the  matter  we  have 
before  us  a  copy  of  his  lordship's  work  on  emigration  published 
in  1805.  This  copy  is  a  gift  to  the  writer  from  Lady  Isabella 
Hope,  the  late  daughter  of  Lord  Selkirk.  In  this  octavo 
volume,  upwards  of  280  pages,  the  whole  question  of  the 
state  of  the  Highlands  is  ably  described.  Tracing  the  con- 
dition of  the  Highlanders  from  the  Rebellion  of  1745,  and 
the  necessity  of  emigration,  Lord  Selkirk  refers  to  the  demand 
for  keeping  up  the  Highland  regiments  as  being  less  than 
formerly,  and  that  the  Highland  proprietors  had  been  opposed 
to  emigration. 

His  patriotism  was  also  stirred  hi  favour  of  preventing  the 
flow  of  British  subjects  to  the  United  States,  and  in  his  desire 
to  see  the  British  possessions,  especially  in  America,  filled  up 
with  loyal  British  subjects.  He  states  that  in  his  Prince 
Edward  Island  Company  in  1803  he  had  succeeded  in  secur- 
ing a  number  from  the  Isle  of  Skye,  whose  friends  had  largely 
gone  to  North  Carolina,  and  that  others  of  them  were  from 
Ross,  Argyle,  and  Inverness,  and  that  the  friends  of  these  had 
chiefly  gone  to  the  United  States. 

After  going  into  some  detail  as  to  the  management  of  his 
Prince  Edward  Island  Highlanders,  he  speaks  of  the  success 
of  his  experiment,  and  gives  us  proof  of  his  consuming  interest 
in  the  progress  and  happiness  of  his  poor  fellow-countrymen. 
It  is  consequently  almost  beyond  doubt  the  fact  that  it  was 
his  desire  for  carrying  out  his  emigration  scheme  that  led  him 
to  obtain  control  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  not  the 
desire  to  introduce  a  colony  to  injure  the  North-West  trade, 
as  charged. 


LORD   SELKIRK'S    COLONY  207 

There  can  be  no  doubt  of  Lord  Selkirk's  thoroughly  patriotic 
and  lofty  aims.  In  1808  he  published  a  brochure  of  some 
eighty  pages  on  "  A  System  of  National  Defence."  In  this 
he  shows  the  value  of  a  local  militia  and  proposes  a  plan  for 
the  maintenance  of  a  sufficient  force  to  protect  Great  Britain 
from  its  active  enemy,  Napoleon.  He  maintains  that  a 
Volunteer  force  would  not  be  permanent ;  and  that  under 
any  semblance  of  peace  that  establishment  must  immediately 
fall  to  pieces.  His  only  dependence  for  the  safety  of  the 
country  is  in  a  local  militia. 

With  his  plan  somewhat  matured,  he  continued  in  1810  to 
obtain  possession  of  stock  of  the  Company,  and  succeeded  in 
having  much  of  it  in  the  hands  of  his  friends.  By  May,  1811, 
he  had  with  his  friends  acquired,  it  is  said,  not  less  than 
35,000/.  of  the  total  stock,  105,OOOZ.  sterling.  A  general  court 
of  the  proprietors  was  called  for  May  30th,  and  the  proposition 
was  made  by  Lord  Selkirk  to  purchase  a  tract  of  land  lying  in 
the  wide  expanse  of  Rupert's  Land  and  on  the  Red  River  of  the 
North,  to  settle,  within  a  limited  time,  a  large  colony  on  their 
lands  and  to  assume  the  expense  of  transport,  of  outlay  for  the 
settlers,  of  government,  of  protection,  and  of  quieting  the 
Indian  title  to  the  lands.  At  the  meeting  there  was  repre- 
sented about  45,OOOZ.  worth  of  stock,  and  the  vote  on  being 
taken  showed  the  representatives  of  nearly  30,000/.  of  the  stock 
to  be  in  favour  of  accepting  Lord  Selkirk's  proposal.  Among 
those  who  voted  with  the  enterprising  Earl  were  his  kinsmen, 
Andrew  Wedderburn,  Esq.  (having  nearly  4,500Z.  stock), 
William  Main  waring,  the  Governor  Joseph  Berens,  Deputy  - 
Governor  John  Henry  Pelly,  and  many  other  well-known 
proprietors. 

The  opposition  was,  however,  by  no  means  insignificant, 
William  Thwaytes,  representing  nearly  10,OOOZ.,  voted  against 
the  proposal,  as  did  also  Robert  Whitehead,  who  held  3,000£. 
stock.  The  most  violent  opponents,  however,  were  the  Nor'- 
Westers  who  were  in  England  at  the  time.  Two  of  them  had 
only  purchased  stock  within  forty-eight  hours  of  the  meeting. 
These  were  Alexander  Mackenzie,  John  Inglis,  and  Edward 
Ellice,  the  three  together  representing  less  than  2,5001. 

The  projector  of  the  colony  having  now  beaten  down  all 


208  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

opposition,  forthwith  proceeded  to  carry  out  his  great  plan  of 
colonization.  His  project  has,  of  course,  been  greatly  criti- 
cized. He  has  been  called  "  a  kind-hearted  but  visionary 
Scottish  nobleman,"  and  his  relative,  Sir  James  Wedderburn, 
spoke  of  him  fifty  years  afterwards  as  "  a  remarkable  man, 
who  had  the  misfortune  to  live  before  his  time."  Certainly 
Lord  Selkirk  met  with  gigantic  difficulties,  but  these  were 
rather  from  the  North- West  Company  than  from  any  untime- 
liness  in  his  emigration  scheme. 

Lord  Selkirk  soon  issued  the  advertisement  and  prospectus 
of  the  new  colony.  He  held  forth  the  advantage  to  be  derived 
from  joining  the  colony.  His  policy  was  very  comprehensive. 
He  said  :  "  The  settlement  is  to  be  formed  in  a  territory  where 
religion  is  not  the  ground  of  any  disqualification ;  an  un- 
reserved participation  in  every  privilege  will  therefore  be 
enjoyed  by  Protestant  and  Catholic  without  distinction/' 

The  area  of  the  new  settlement  was  said  to  consist  of 
110,000  square  miles  on  the  Red  and  Assiniboine  Rivers,  and 
one  of  the  most  fertile  districts  of  North  America.  The  name 
Assiniboia  was  given  it  from  the  Assiniboine,  and  steps  were 
taken  immediately  to  organize  a  government  for  the  embryo 
colony. 

Active  measures  were  then  taken  by  the  Earl  of  Selkirk  to 
advance  his  scheme,  and  it  was  determined  to  send  out  the 
first  colony  immediately.  Some  years  before,  Lord  Selkirk 
had  carried  on  a  correspondence  with  a  U.  E.  Loyalist  colonist, 
Miles  Macdonell,  formerly  an  officer  of  the  King's  Royal 
Regiment  of  New  York,  who  had  been  given  the  rank  of 
captain  in  the  Canadian  Militia.  Macdonell's  assistance  was 
obtained  in  the  new  enterprise,  and  he  was  appointed  by  his 
lordship  to  superintend  his  colony  at  Red  River. 

Many  incorrect  statements  have  been  made  about  the 
different  bands  of  colonists  which  found  their  way  to  Red 
River.  No  less  than  four  parties  arrived  at  Red  River  by  way 
of  York  or  Churchill  Factories  between  the  years  1811  and  1815. 
Facts  connected  with  one  of  them  have  been  naturally  confused 
in  the  memories  of  the  old  settlers  on  Red  River  with  what  hap- 
pened to  other  bands.  In  this  way  the  author  has  found  that 
representations  made  to  him  and  embodied  in  his  work  on 


LORD    SELKIRK'S    COLONY  209 

"  Manitoba/'  published  in  1882,  were  in  several  particulars 
incorrect.  Fortunately  in  late  years  the  letter-book  of  Captain 
Miles  Macdonell  was  acquired  from  the  Misses  Macdonell  of 
Brockville,  and  the  voluminous  correspondence  of  Lord 
Selkirk  has  been  largely  copied  for  the  Archives  at  Ottawa. 
These  letters  enable  us  to  give  a  clear  and  accurate  account  of 
the  first  band  of  colonists  that  found  its  way  to  the  heart  of  the 
Continent  and  began  the  Red  River  settlement. 

In  the  end  of  June,  1811,  Captain  Miles  Macdonell  found 
himself  at  Yarmouth,  on  the  east  coast  of  England,  with  a  fleet 
of  three  vessels  sent  out  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  for 
their  regular  trade  and  also  to  carry  the  first  colonists.  These 
vessels  were  the  Prince  of  Wales,  the  Eddystone,  and  an 
old  craft  the  Edward  and  Anne,  with  "  old  sail  ropes,  &c.,  and 
very  badly  manned."  This  extra  vessel  was  evidently  intend- 
ed for  the  accommodation  of  the  colonists.  By  the  middle  of 
July  the  little  fleet  had  reached  the  Pentland  Firth  and  were 
compelled  to  put  into  Stromness,  when  the  Prince  of  Wales 
embarked  a  number  of  Orkneymen  intended  for  the  Company's 
service.  The  men  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  at  this  time 
wore  largely  drawn  from  the  Orkney  Islands. 

Proceeding  on  their  way  the  fleet  made  rendezvous  at 
Stornoway,  the  chief  town  of  Lewis,  one  of  the  Hebrides.  Here 
had  arrived  a  number  of  colonists  or  employes,  some  from 
Sligo,  others  from  Glasgow,  and  others  from  different  parts  of 
the  Highlands.  Many  influences  were  operating  against  the 
success  of  the  colonizing  expedition.  It  had  the  strenuous 
opposition  of  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie,  then  in  Britain,  and  the 
newspapers  contained  articles  intended  to  discourage  and  dis- 
suade people  from  embarking  in  the  enterprise.  Mr.  Reid, 
collector  of  Customs  at  Stornoway,  whose  wife  was  an  aunt  of 
Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie,  threw  every  impediment  in  the  way 
of  the  project,  and  some  of  those  engaged  by  Lord  Selkirk  were 
actually  lured  away  by  enlisting  agents.  A  so-called  "  Cap- 
tain "  Mackenzie,  denominated  a  "  mean  fellow,"  came  along- 
side the  Edward  and  Anne,  which  had  some  seventy-six  men 
aboard — Glasgow  men,  Irish,  "and  a  few  from  Orkney" — 
and  claimed  some  of  them  as  "  deserters  from  Her  Majesty's 
service."  The  demand  was,  however,  resisted.  It  is  no 


210  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

wonder  that  in  his  letter  to  Lord  Selkirk  Captain  Macdonell 
writes,  "  All  the  men  that  we  shall  have  are  now  embarked, 
but  it  has  been  an  herculean  task." 

A  prominent  employe  of  the  expedition,  Mr.  Moncrieff 
Blair,  posing  as  a  gentleman,  deserted  on  July  25th,  the  day 
before  the  sailing  of  the  vessels.  A  number  of  the  deserters  at 
Storaoway  had  left  their  effects  on  board,  and  these  were 
disposed  of  by  sale  among  the  passengers.  Among  the  officers 
was  a  Mr.  Edwards,  who  acted  as  medical  man  of  the  expedi- 
tion. He  had  his  hands  completely  full  during  the  voyage  and 
returned  to  England  with  the  ships.  Another  notable  person 
on  board  was  a  Roman  Catholic  priest,  known  as  Father 
Bourke.  Captain  Macdonell  was  himself  a  Roman  Catholic, 
but  he  seems  from  the  first  to  have  had  no  confidence  in  the 
priest,  who,  he  stated,  had  "  come  away  without  the  leave  of 
his  bishop,  who  was  at  the  time  at  Dublin."  Father  Bourke, 
we  shall  see,  though  carried  safely  to  the  shores  of  Hudson 
Bay,  never  reached  the  interior,  but  returned  to  Britain  in  the 
following  year.  After  the  usual  incidents  of  "an  uncommon 
share  of  boisterous,  stormy,  and  cold  weather  "  on  the  ocean, 
the  ships  entered  Hudson  Bay.  Experiencing  "  a  course  of 
fine  mild  weather  and  moderate  fair  winds,"  on  September  24th 
the  fleet  reached  the  harbour  of  York  Factory,  after  a  voyage 
of  sixty-one  days  out  from  Stornoway,  the  Eddystone,  which 
was  intended  to  go  to  Churchill,  not  having  been  able  to 
reach  that  Factory,  coming  with  the  other  vessels  to  York 
Factory. 

The  late  arrival  of  the  colony  on  the  shores  of  Hudson  Bay 
made  it  impossible  to  ascend  the  Nelson  River  and  reach 
the  interior  during  the  season  of  1811.  Accordingly  Captain 
Macdonell  made  preparations  for  wintering  on  the  Bay.  York 
Factory  would  not  probably  have  afforded  sufficient  accommo- 
dation for  the  colonists,  but  in  addition  Captain  Macdonell 
states  in  a  letter  to  Lord  Selkirk  that  "  the  factory  is  very  ill 
constructed  and  not  at  all  adapted  for  a  cold  country."  In 
consequence  of  these  considerations,  Captain  Macdonell  at 
once  undertook,  during  the  fair  weather  of  the  season  yet 
remaining,  to  build  winter  quarters  on  the  north  side  of  the 
river,  at  a  distance  of  some  miles  from  the  Factory.  No  doubt 


LORD    SELKIRK'S    COLONY  211 

matters  of  discipline  entered  into  the  plans  of  the  leader  of  the 
colonists.  In  a  short  time  very  comfortable  dwellings  were 
erected,  built  of  round  logs,  the  front  side  high  with  a  shade 
roof  sloping  to  the  rear  a  foot  thick — and  the  group  of  huts 
was  known  as  "  Nelson  encampment !  " 

The  chief  work  during  the  earlier  winter,  which  the  captain 
laid  on  his  two  score  men,  was  providing  themselves  with  fuel, 
of  which  there  was  plenty,  and  obtaining  food  from  the  Fac- 
tory, for  which  sledges  drawn  over  the  snow  were  utilized  by 
the  detachments  sent  on  this  service.  The  most  serious  diffi- 
culty was,  however,  a  meeting,  in  which  a  dozen  or  more  of  the 
men  became  completely  insubordinate,  and  refused  to  yield 
obedience  either  to  Captain  Macdonell  or  to  Mr.  W.  H.  Cook, 
the  Governor  of  the  Factory.  Every  effort  was  made  to 
maintain  discipline,  but  the  men  steadily  held  to  their  own 
way,  lived  apart  from  Macdonell,  and  drew  their  own  pro- 
visions from  the  fort  to  their  huts.  This  tended  to  make  the 
winter  somewhat  long  and  disagreeable. 

Captain  Macdonell,  being  a  Canadian,  knew  well  the 
dangers  of  the  dread  disease  of  the  scurvy  attacking  his  in- 
experienced colonists.  The  men  at  the  fort  prophesied  evil 
things  in  this  respect  for  the  "encampment."  The  captain 
took  early  steps  to  meet  the  disease,  and  his  letters  to  Governor 
Cook  always  contain  demands  for  "  essence  of  malt,"  "  crystal- 
lized salts  of  lemon,"  and  other  anti-scorbutics.  Though 
some  of  his  men  were  attacked,  yet  the  sovereign  remedy  so 
often  employed  in  the  "  lumber  camps  "  of  America,  the  juice 
of  the  white  spruce,  was  applied  with  almost  magical  effect. 
As  the  winter  went  on,  plenty  of  venison  was  received,  and  the 
health  of  his  wintering  party  was  in  the  spring  much  better 
than  could  have  been  anticipated. 

After  the  New  Year  had  come,  all  thoughts  were  directed  to 
preparations  for  the  journey  of  700  miles  or  thereabouts  to 
the  interior.  A  number  of  boats  were  required  for  transporta- 
tion of  the  colonists  and  their  effects.  Captain  Macdonell  in- 
sisted on  his  boats  being  made  after  a  different  style  from  the 
boats  commonly  used  at  that  time  by  the  Company.  His 
model  was  the  flat  boat,  which  he  had  seen  used  in  the  Mohawk 
River  in  the  State  of  New  York,  The  workmanship  displayed 


212  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

in  the  making  of  these  boats  very  much  dissatisfied  Captain 
Macdonell,  and  he  constantly  complained  of  the  indolence  of 
the  workmen.  In  consequence  of  this  inefficiency  the  cost  of 
the  boats  to  Lord  Selkirk  was  very  great,  and  drew  forth  the 
objections  of  the  leader  of  the  colony. 

Captain  Macdonell  had  the  active  assistance  of  Mr.  Cook, 
the  officer  in  charge  of  York,  and  of  Mr.  Auld,  the  Commander 
of  Churchill,  the  latter  having  come  down  to  York  to  make 
arrangements  for  the  inland  journey  of  the  colonists.  By 
July  1st,  1812,  the  ice  had  moved  from  the  river,  and  the  ex- 
pedition started  soon  after  on  the  journey  to  Red  River.  The 
new  settlers  found  the  route  a  hard  and  trying  one  with  its 
rapids  and  portages.  The  boats,  too,  were  heavy,  and  the 
colonists  inexperienced  in  managing  them.  It  was  well  on 
toward  autumn  when  the  company,  numbering  about  seventy, 
reached  the  Red  River.  No  special  preparation  had  been 
made  for  the  colonists,  and  the  winter  would  soon  be  upon 
them.  Some  of  the  parties  were  given  shelter  in  the  Company 
fort  and  buildings,  others  in  the  huts  of  the  freed  men,  who 
were  married  to  the  Indian  women,  and  settled  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  Forks,  while  others  still  found  refuge  in  the 
tents  of  the  Indian  encampment  in  the  vicinity.  Governor 
Macdonell  soon  selected  Point  Douglas  as  the  future  centre 
of  the  colony  and  what  is  now  Kildonan  as  the  settlement. 
On  account  of  the  want  of  food  the  settlers  were  taken  sixty 
miles  south  to  Pembina  and  there,  by  November,  a  post,  called 
Fort  Daer  from  one  of  Lord  Selkirk's  titles,  was  erected  for 
the  shelter  of  the  people  and  for  nearness  to  the  buffalo  herds. 
The  Governor  joined  the  colony  in  a  short  time  and  retired 
with  them  early  in  1813  to  their  settlement. 

While  Governor  Macdonell  was  thus  early  engaged  in  making 
a  beginning  in  the  new  colony,  Lord  Selkirk  was  seeking  out 
more  colonists,  and  sent  out  a  small  number  to  the  New 
World  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  ships.  Before  sailing 
from  Stornoway  the  second  party  met  with  serious  interruption 
from  the  collector  of  Customs,  who,  we  have  seen,  was  related 
to  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie.  The  number  on  board  the  ships 
was  greater,  it  was  claimed,  than  the  "  Dundas  Act"  per- 
mitted. Through  the  influence  of  Lord  Selkirk  the  ships  were 


LORD   SELKIRK'S    COLONY  213 

allowed  to  proceed  on  their  voyage.  Prison  fever,  it  is  said, 
broke  out  on  the  voyage,  so  that  a  number  died  at  sea,  and 
others  on  the  shore  of  Hudson  Bay.  A  small  number,  not 
more  than  fifteen  or  twenty,  reached  Red  River  in  the  autumn 
of  1813. 

During  the  previous  winter  Governor  Macdonell  had  taken  a 
number  of  the  colonists  to  Pembina,  a  point  sixty  miles  south 
of  the  Forks,  where  buffalo  could  be  had,  as  has  already  been 
mentioned  on  the  previous  page.  On  returning,  after  the 
second  winter,  to  the  settlement,  the  colonists  sowed  a  small 
quantity  of  wheat.  They  were  not,  however,  at  that  time  in 
possession  of  any  horses  or  oxen  and  were  consequently 
compelled  to  prepare  the  ground  with  the  hoe. 

Lord  Selkirk  had  not  been  anxious  in  1812  to  send  a  large 
addition  to  his  colony.  In  1813  he  made  greater  efforts, 
and  in  June  sent  out  in  the  Prince  of  Wales,  sailing  from 
Orkney,  a  party  under  Mr.  Archibald  Macdonald,  numbering 
some  ninety-three  persons.  Mr.  Macdonald  has  written  an 
account  of  his  voyage,  and  has  given  us  a  remarkably  concise 
and  clear  pamphlet.  Having  spent  the  winter  at  Churchill, 
Macdonald  started  on  April  14th  with  a  considerable  number 
of  his  party,  and,  coming  by  way  of  York  Factory,  reached 
Red  River  on  June  22nd,  when  they  were  able  to  plant  some 
thirty  or  forty  bushels  of  potatoes.  The  settlers  were  in  good 
spirits,  having  received  plots  of  land  to  build  houses  for  them- 
selves. Governor  Macdonell  went  northward  to  meet  the 
remainder  of  Archibald  Macdonald's  party,  and  arrived  with 
them  late  in  the  season. 

On  account  of  various  misunderstandings  between  the 
colony  and  the  North-West  Company,  which  we  shall  relate 
more  particularly  in  another  chapter,  150  of  the  colonists  were 
induced  by  a  North-West  officer,  Duncan  Cameron,  to  leave  the 
country  and  go  by  a  long  canoe  journey  to  Canada.  The  re- 
mainder, numbering  about  sixty  persons,  making  up  about 
thirteen  families,  were  driven  from  the  settlement,  and  found 
refuge  at  Norway  House  (Jack  River)  at  the  foot  of  Lake 
Winnipeg.  An  officer  from  Lord  Selkirk,  Colin  Robertson, 
arrived  in  the  colony  to  assist  these  settlers,  but  found  them 
driven  out.  He  followed  them  to  Norway  House,  and  with 


214  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

his  twenty  clerks  and  servants,  conducted  them  back  to  Red 
River  to  their  deserted  homes. 

While  these  disastrous  proceedings  were  taking  place  on 
Red  River,  including  the  summons  to  Governor  Macdonell  to 
appear  before  the  Courts  of  Lower  Canada  to  answer  certain 
charges  made  against  him,  Lord  Selkirk  was  especially  active 
in  Great  Britain,  and  gathered  together  the  best  band  of 
settlers  yet  sent  out.  These  were  largely  from  the  parish  of 
Kildonan,  in  Sutherlandshire,  Scotland.  Governor  Macdonell 
having  gone  east  to  Canada,  the  colony  was  to  be  placed 
under  a  new  Governor,  a  military  officer  of  some  distinction, 
Robert  Semple,  who  had  travelled  in  different  parts  of  the 
world.  Governor  Semple  was  in  charge  of  this  fourth  party  of 
colonists,  who  numbered  about  100.  With  this  party,  hasten- 
ing through  his  journey,  Governor  Semple  reached  his  destina- 
tion on  Red  River  in  the  month  of  October,  in  the  same  year 
in  which  they  had  left  the  motherland. 

Thus  we  have  seen  the  arrival  of  those  who  were  known  as 
the  Selkirk  colonists.  We  recapitulate  their  numbers  : — 

In  1811,  reaching  Red  River  in  1812  .....  70 

In  1812,  reaching  Red  River  in  1813 15  or  20 

In  1813,  reaching  Red  River  in  two  parties  in  1814  .  .  93 

In  1815,  reaching  Red  River  in  the  same  year  .  .  .  100 
Making  deduction  of  the  Irish  settlers  there  were  of  the 

Highland  colonists  about    .......  270 

Less  those  led  by  the  North- West  Company  in  1814  to 

Canada 140 

Permanent  Highland  settlers  ,  .  .  .  .  .  130 

Of  these  but  two  remained  on  the  banks  of  the  Red  River  in 
1897,  George  Bannerman  and  John  Matheson,  and  they  have 
both  died  since  that  time. 

We  shall  follow  the  history  of  these  colonists  further  ;  suffice 
it  now  to  say  that  their  settlement  has  proved  the  country  to 
be  one  of  great  fertility  and  promise  ;  and  their  early  establish- 
ment no  doubt  prevented  international  complications  with  the 
United  States  that  might  have  rendered  the  possession  of 
Rupert's  Land  a  matter  of  uncertainty  to  Great  Britain. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

TROUBLE   BETWEEN   THE   COMPANIES. 

Nor' -Westers  oppose  the  colony — Reason  why — A  considerable 
literature — Contentions  of  both  parties — Both  in  fault — Miles 
Macdonell's  mistake — Nor' -Wester  arrogance — Duncan  Came- 
ron's ingenious  plan — Stirring  up  the  Chippewas — Nor' -Westers 
warn  colonists  to  depart — McLeod's  hitherto  unpublished  narra- 
tive— Vivid  account  of  a  brave  defence — Chain  shot  from  the 
blacksmith's  smithy — Fort  Douglas  begun — Settlers  driven  out 
— Governor  Semple  arrives — Cameron  last  Governor  of  Fort 
Gibraltar — Cameron  sent  to  Britain  as  a  prisoner — Fort  Gibraltar 
captured — Fort  Gibraltar  decreases,  Fort  Douglas  increases — 
Free  traders  take  to  the  plains — Indians  favour  the  colonists. 

To  the  most  casual  observer  it  must  have  been  evident  that 
the  colony  to  be  established  by  Lord  Selkirk  would  be  regarded 
with  disfavour  by  the  North- West  Company  officers.  The 
strenuous  opposition  shown  to  it  in  Great  Britain  by  Sir 
Alexander  Mackenzie,  and  by  all  who  were  connected  with  him, 
showed  quite  clearly  that  it  would  receive  little  favour  on  the 
Red  River. 

First,  it  was  a  Hudson's  Bay  scheme,  and  would  greatly 
advance  the  interests  of  the  English  trading  Company.  That 
Company  would  have  at  the  very  threshold  of  the  fur  country 
a  depot,  surrounded  by  traders  and  workmen,  which  would 
give  them  a  great  advantage  over  their  rivals. 

Secondly,  civilization  and  its  handmaid  agriculture  are 
incompatible  with  the  fur  trade.  As  the  settler  enters,  the 
fur-bearing  animals  are  exterminated.  A  sparsely  settled, 
almost  unoccupied  country,  is  the  only  hope  of  preserving  this 
trade. 

Thirdly,  the  claim  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  under 
its  charter  was  that  they  had  the  sole  right  to  pursue  the  fur 
trade  in  Rupert's  Land.  Their  traditional  policy  on  Hudson 

215 


216  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Bay  had  been  to  drive  out  private  trade,  and  to  preserve  their 
monopoly. 

Fourthly,  the  Nor'- Westers  claimed  to  be  the  lineal  suc- 
cessors of  the  French  traders,  who,  under  Verendrye,  had 
opened  up  the  region  west  of  Lake  Superior.  They  long  after 
maintained  that  priority  of  discovery  and  earlier  possession 
gave  them  the  right  to  claim  the  region  in  dispute  as  belonging 
to  the  province  of  Quebec,  and  so  as  being  a  part  of  Canada. 

The  first  and  second  parties  of  settlers  were  so  small,  and 
seemed  so  little  able  to  cope  with  the  difficulties  of  their 
situation,  that  no  great  amount  of  opposition  was  shown.  They 
were  made,  it  is  true,  the  laughing-stock  of  the  half-breeds 
and  Indians,  for  these  free  children  of  the  prairies  regarded 
the  use  of  the  hoe  or  other  agricultural  implement  as  beneath 
them.  The  term  "  Pork-eaters/'  applied,  as  we  have  seen,  to 
rthe  voyageurs  east  of  Fort  William,  was  freely  applied  to  these 
settlers,  while  the  Indians  used  to  call  them  the  French  name 
"  Jardinieres  "  or  clod-hoppers. 

A  considerable  literature  is  in  existence  dealing  with  the 
events  of  this  period.  It  is  somewhat  difficult,  in  the  conflict 
of  opinion,  to  reach  a  basis  of  certainty  as  to  the  facts  of  this 
contest.  The  Indian  country  is  proverbial  for  the  prevalence 
of  rumour  and  misrepresentation.  Moreover,  prejudice  and 
self-interest  were  mingled  with  deep  passion,  so  that  the  facts 
are  very  hard  to  obtain. 

The  upholders  of  the  colony  claim  that  no  sooner  had  the 
settlers  arrived  than  efforts  were  made  to  stir  up  the  Indians 
against  them  ;  that  besides,  the  agents  of  the  North- West 
Company  had  induced  the  Metis,  or  half-breeds,  to  disguise 
themselves  as  Indians,  and  that  on  their  way  to  Pembina  one 
man  was  robbed  by  these  desperadoes  of  the  gun  which  his 
father  had  carried  at  Culloden,  a  woman  of  her  marriage  ring, 
and  others  of  various  ornaments  and  valuable  articles.  There 
were,  however,  it  is  admitted,  no  specially  hostile  acts  notice- 
able during  the  years  1812  and  1813. 

The  advocates  of  the  North-West  Company,  on  the  other 
hand,  blame  the  first  aggression  on  Miles  Macdonell.  During 
the  winter  of  1813  and  1814  Governor  Macdonell  and  his 
colonists  were  occupying  Fort  Daer  and  Pembina.  The 


TROUBLE   BETWEEN    THE   COMPANIES     217 

supply  of  subsistence  from  the  buffalo  was  short,  food  was 
difficult  to  obtain,  the  war  with  the  United  States  was  in 
progress  and  might  cut  off  communication  with  Montreal,  and 
moreover,  a  body  of  colonists  was  expected  to  arrive  during 
the  year  from  Great  Britain.  Accordingly,  the  Governor,  on 
January  8th,  1814,  issued  a  proclamation. 

He  claimed  the  territory  as  ceded  to  Lord  Selkirk,  and  gave 
the  description  of  the  tract  thus  transferred.  The  proclama- 
tion then  goes  on  to  say :  ' '  And  whereas  the  welfare  of  the 
families  at  present  forming  the  settlements  on  the  Red  River 
within  the  said  territory,  with  those  on  their  way  to  it,  passing 
the  winter  at  York  or  Churchill  Forts  on  Hudson  Bay,  as  also 
those  who  are  expected  to  arrive  next  autumn,  renders  it  a 
necessary  and  indispensable  part  of  my  duty  to  provide  for 
their  support.  The  uncultivated  state  of  the  country,  the 
ordinary  resources  derived  from  the  buffalo,  and  other  wild 
animals  hunted  within  the  territory,  are  not  deemed  more  than 
adequate  for  the  requisite  supply  ;  wherefore,  it  is  hereby 
ordered  that  no  persons  trading  in  furs  or  provisions  within 
the  territory,  for  the  Honourable  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
the  North-West  Company,  or  any  individual  or  unconnected 
traders  whatever,  shall  take  out  any  provisions,  either  of  flesh, 
grain,  or  vegetables,  procured  or  raised  within  the  territory,  by 
water  or  land-carriage  for  one  twelvemonth  from  the  date 
hereof  ;  save  and  except  what  may  be  judged  necessary  for  the 
trading  parties  at  the  present  time  within  the  territory,  to 
carry  them  to  their  respective  destinations,  and  who  may,  on 
due  application  to  me,  obtain  licence  for  the  same.  The 
provisions  procured  and  raised  as  above,  shall  be  taken  for  the 
use  of  the  colony,  and  that  no  losses  may  accrue  to  the  parties 
concerned,  they  will  be  paid  for  by  British  bills  at  the  cus- 
tomary rates,  &c." 

The  Nor '-Westers  then  recalled  the  ceremonies  with  which 
Governor  Macdonell  had  signalized  his  entrance  to  the  country  : 
"  When  he  arrived  he  gathered  his  company  about  him, 
made  before  it  some  impressive  ceremonies,  drawn  from 
the  conjuring  book  of  his  lordship,  and  read  to  it  his  commis- 
sion of  governor  or  representative  of  Lord  Selkirk  ;  afterwards 
a  salute  was  fired  from  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  fort, 


218  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

which  proclaimed  his  taking  possession  of  the  neighbour- 
hood." 

The  Governor,  however,  soon  gave  another  example  of  his 
determination  to  assert  his  authority.  It  had  been  represented 
to  him  that  the  North-West  Company  officers  had  no  intention 
of  obeying  the  proclamation,  and  indeed  were  engaged  in 
buying  up  all  the  available  supplies  to  prevent  his  getting 
enough  for  his  colonists.  Convinced  that  his  opponents  were 
engaged  in  thwarting  his  designs,  the  Governor  sent  John 
Spencer  to  seize  some  of  the  stores  which  had  been  gathered 
in  the  North -West  post  at  the  mouth  of  the  Souris  River. 
Spencer  was  unwilling  to  go,  unless  very  specific  instruc- 
tions were  given  him.  The  Governor  had,  by  Lord  Selkirk's 
influence  in  Canada,  been  appointed  a  magistrate,  and  he  now 
issued  a  warrant  authorizing  Spencer  to  seize  the  provisions  in 
this  fort. 

Spencer,  provided  with  a  double  escort,  proceeded  to  the 
fort  at  the  Souris,  and  the  Nor '-Westers  made  no  other 
resistance  than  to  retire  within  the  stockade  and  shut  the  gate 
of  the  fort.  Spencer  ordered  his  men  to  force  an  entrance 
with  their  hatchets.  Afterwards,  opening  the  store-houses, 
they  seized  six  hundred  skins  of  dried  meat  (pemmican)  and 
of  grease,  each  weighing  eighty-five  pounds.  This  booty  was 
removed  into  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  fort  (Brandon 
House)  at  that  place. 

We  have  now  before  us  the  first  decided  action  that  led  to 
the  serious  disturbances  that  followed.  The  question  arises, 
Was  the  Governor  justified  in  the  steps  taken  by  him  ?  No 
doubt,  with  the  legal  opinion  which  Lord  Selkirk  had  obtained, 
he  considered  himself  thoroughly  justified.  The  necessities  of 
his  starving  people  and  the  plea  of  humanity  were  certainly 
strong  motives  urging  him  to  action.  No  doubt  these  con- 
siderations seemed  strong,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  he  should 
have  remembered  that  the  idea  of  law  in  the  fur  traders' 
country  was  a  new  thing,  that  the  Nor'-Westers,  moreover, 
were  not  prepared  to  credit  him  with  purity  of  motive,  and 
that  they  had  at  their  disposal  a  force  of  wild  Bois  Brules 
ready  to  follow  the  unbridled  customs  of  the  plains. 
Further,  even  in  civilized  communities  laws  of  non -intercourse, 


TROUBLE   BETWEEN   THE   COMPANIES     219 

embargo,  and  the  like,  are  looked  upon  as  arbitrary  and  of 
doubtful  validity.  All  these  things  should  have  led  the 
Governor,  ill  provided  as  he  was  with  the  force  necessary  for 
his  defence,  to  hesitate  before  taking  a  course  likely  to  be 
disagreeable  to  the  Nor '-Westers,  who  would  regard  it  as  an 
assertion  of  the  claim  of  superiority  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany and  of  the  consequent  degradation  of  their  Company,  of 
which  they  were  so  proud. 

In  their  writings  the  North -West  Company  take  some  credit 
for  not  precipitating  a  conflict,  but  state  that  they  endured  the 
indignity  until  their  council  at  Fort  William  should  take  action 
in  the  following  summer.  At  this  council,  which  was  interest- 
ing and  full  of  strong  feeling  against  their  fur-trading  rivals, 
the  Nor'-Westers,  under  the  presidency  of  the  Hon.  William 
McGillivray,  took  decided  action. 

In  the  trials  that  afterwards  arose  out  of  this  unfortunate 
quarrel,  John  Pritchard,  whose  forty  days'  wanderings  we  have 
recorded,  testified  that  one  of  the  North-West  agents,  Mac- 
Kenzie,  had  given  him  the  information  that  * '  the  intention  of 
the  North-West  Company  was  to  seduce  and  inveigle  away  as 
many  of  the  colonists  and  settlers  at  Red  River  as  they  could 
induce  to  join  them  ;  and  after  they  should  thus  have  dimin- 
ished their  means  of  defence,  to  raise  the  Indians  of  Lac 
Rouge,  Fond  du  Lac,  and  other  places,  to  act  and  destroy  the 
settlement ;  and  that  it  was  also  their  intention  to  bring  the 
Governor,  Miles  Macdonell,  down  to  Montreal  as  a  prisoner, 
by  way  of  degrading  the  authority  under  which  the  colony 
was  established  in  the  eyes  of  the  natives  of  that  country." 

Simon  McGillivray,  a  North-West  Company  partner,  had 
two  years  before  this  written  from  London  that  "  Lord  Selkirk 
must  be  driven  to  abandon  his  project,  for  his  success  would 
strike  at  the  very  existence  of  our  trade." 

Two  of  the  most  daring  partners  of  the  North-West  Com- 
pany were  put  in  charge  of  the  plan  of  campaign  agreed 
on  at  Fort  William.  These  were  Duncan  Cameron  and 
Alexander  Macdonell.  The  latter  wrote  to  a  friend,  from 
one  of  his  resting-places  on  his  journey,  "  Much  is  expected 
of  us.  ...  so  here  is  at  them  with  all  my  heart  and  energy." 
The  two  partners  arrived  at  Fort  Gibraltar,  situated  at  the 


220  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY    COMPANY 

forks  of  the  Red  and  Assiniboine  Rivers,  toward  the  end 
of  August.  The  senior  partner,  Macdonell,  leaving  Cameron 
at  Fort  Gibraltar,  went  westward  to  the  Qu'Appelle  River, 
to  return  in  the  spring  and  carry  out  the  plan  agreed  on. 

Cameron  had  been  busy  during  the  winter  in  dealing  with 
the  settlers,  and  let  no  opportunity  slip  of  impressing  them. 
Knowing  the  fondness  of  Highlanders  for  military  display,  he 
dressed  himself  in  a  bright  red  coat,  wore  a  sword,  and  in 
writing  to  the  settlers,  which  he  often  did,  signed  himself, 
"  D.  Cameron,  Captain,  Voyageur  Corps,  Commanding  Officer, 
Red  River/'  He  also  posted  an  order  at  the  gate  of  his  fort 
purporting  to  be  his  captain's  commission.  Some  dispute  has 
arisen  as  to  the  validity  of  this  authority.  There  seems  to 
have  been  some  colour  for  the  use  of  this  title,  under  authority 
given  for  enlisting  an  irregular  corps  in  the  upper  lakes 
during  the  American  War  of  1812,  but  the  legal  opinion  is 
that  this  had  no  validity  in  the  Red  River  settlement. 

Cameron,  aiming  at  the  destruction  of  the  colony,  began  by 
ingratiating  himself  with  a  number  of  the  leading  settlers. 
Knowing  the  love  of  the  Highlanders  for  their  own  language, 
Cameron  spoke  to  them  Gaelic  in  his  most  pleasing  manner, 
entertained  the  leading  colonists  at  his  own  table,  and  paid 
many  attentions  to  their  families.  Promises  were  then  made 
to  a  number  of  leaders  to  provide  the  people  with  homes  in 
Upper  Canada,  to  pay  up  wages  due  by  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  or  Lord  Selkirk,  and  to  give  a  year's  provisions  free, 
provided  the  colony  would  leave  the  Red  River  and  accept  the 
advantages  offered  in  Canada.  This  plan  succeeded  remark- 
ably well,  and  it  is  in  sworn  evidence  that  on  three-quarters  of 
the  colony  reaching  Fort  William,  a  settler,  Campbell,  received 
100Z.,  several  others  20Z.,  and  so  on. 

Some  of  the  best  of  the  settlers,  amounting  to  about  one- 
quarter  of  the  whole,  refused  all  the  advances  of  the  subtle 
captain.  Another  method  was  taken  with  this  class.  The 
plan  of  frightening  them  away  by  the  co-operation  of  the  Cree 
Indians  had  failed,  but  the  Bois  Bniles,  or  half-breeds,  were  a 
more  pliant  agency.  These  were  to  be  employed.  Cameron 
now  (April,  1815)  made  a  demand  on  Archibald  Macdonald, 
Acting  Governor,  to  hand  over  to  the  settlers  the  field  pieces 


TROUBLE   BETWEEN    THE    COMPANIES     221 

belonging  to  Lord  Selkirk,  on  the  ground  that  these  had  been 
used  already  to  disturb  the  peace.  This  startling  order  was 
presented  to  the  Governor  by  settler  Campbell  on  the  day  on 
which  the  fortnightly  issue  of  rations  took  place  at  the  colony 
buildings.  The  settlers  in  favour  of  Cameron  then  broke  open 
the  store-house,  and  took  nine  pieces  of  ordnance  and  removed 
them  to  Fort  Gibraltar.  The  Governor  having  arrested  one  of 
the  settlers  who  had  broken  open  the  store-house,  a  number 
of  the  North-West  Company  clerks  and  servants,  under  orders 
from  Cameron,  broke  into  the  Governor's  house  and  rescued 
the  prisoner. 

About  this  time  Miles  Macdonell,  the  Governor,  returned  to 
the  settlement.  A  warrant  had  been  issued  for  his  arrest  by 
the  Nor '-Westers,  but  he  refused  for  the  time  to  acknowledge 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  magistrates.  Cameron  now  spread 
abroad  the  statement  that  if  the  settlers  did  not  deliver  up  the 
Governor,  they  in  turn  would  be  attacked  and  driven  from 
their  homes.  Certain  colonists  were  now  fired  at  by  unseen 
assailants. 

About  the  middle  of  May,  the  senior  partner,  Alexander 
Macdonell,  arrived  from  Qu'Appelle,  accompanied  by  a  band 
of  Cree  Indians.  The  partners  hoped  through  these  to  frighten 
the  settlers  who  remained  obdurate,  but  the  Indians  were  too 
astute  to  be  led  into  the  quarrel,  and  assured  Governor  Miles 
Macdonell  that  they  were  resolved  not  to  molest  the  new- 
comers. 

An  effort  was  also  made  to  stir  up  the  Chippewa  Indians 
of  Sand  Lake,  near  the  west  of  Lake  Superior.  The  chief  of 
the  band  declared  to  the  Indian  Department  of  Canada  that  he 
was  offered  a  large  rewrard  if  he  would  declare  war  against  the 
Selkirk  colonists.  This  the  Chippewas  refused  to  do. 

Early  in  June  the  lawless  spirit  followed  by  the  Nor'- 
Westers  again  showed  itself.  A  party  from  Fort  Gibraltar 
went  down  with  loaded  muskets,  and  from  a  wood  near 
the  Governor's  residence  fired  upon  some  of  the  colony 
employes.  Mr.  White,  the  surgeon,  was  nearly  hit,  and  a 
ball  passed  close  by  Mr.  Burke,  the  storekeeper.  General 
firing  then  began  from  the  wood  and  was  returned  from  the 
house,  but  four  of  the  colony  servants  were  wounded.  This 


222  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

expedition  was  under  Cameron,  who  congratulated  his  follow- 
ers on  the  result. 

The  demand  for  the  surrender  of  the  Governor,  in  answer  to 
the  warrant  issued,  was  then  made,  and  at  the  persuasion  of 
the  other  officers  of  the  settlement,  and  to  avoid  the  loss  of  life 
and  the  dangers  threatened  against  the  colonists,  Governor 
Miles  Macdonell  surrendered  himself  and  was  taken  to  Montreal 
for  trial,  though  no  trial  ever  took  place. 

The  double  plan  of  coaxing  away  all  the  settlers  who  were 
open  to  such  inducement,  and  of  then  forcibly  driving  away 
the  residue  from  the  settlement,  seemed  likely  to  succeed. 
One  hundred  and  thirty-four  of  the  colonists,  induced  by 
promises  of  free  transport,  two  hundred  acres  of  land  in  Upper 
Canada,  as  well  as  in  some  cases  by  substantial  gifts,  deserted 
the  colony  in  June  (1815),  along  with  Cameron,  and  arrived  at 
Fort  William  on  their  way  down  the  lakes  at  the  end  of  July. 
These  settlers  made  their  way  in  canoes  along  the  desolate 
shores  of  Lake  Superior  and  Georgian  Bay,  and  arrived  at 
Holland  Landing,  in  Upper  Canada,  on  September  5th.  Many 
of  them  were  given  land  in  the  township  of  West  Guillimbury, 
near  Newmarket,  and  many  of  their  descendants  are  there  to 
this  day. 

The  Nor'-Westers  now  continued  their  persecution  of  the 
remnant  of  the  settlers.  They  burnt  some  of  their  houses  and 
used  threats  of  the  most  extreme  kind.  On  June  25th,  1815, 
the  following  document  was  served  upon  the  disheartened 
colonists  : — 

' '  All  settlers  to  retire  immediately  from  the  Red  River,  and 
no  trace  of  a  settlement  to  remain. 

"  CUTHBERT  GRANT. 
"  BOSTONNAIS  PANGMAN. 
"  WILLIAM  SHAW. 
"  BONHOMME  MONTOUR." 

The  conflict  resulting  at  this  time  may  be  said  to  be  the  first 
battle  of  the  war.  A  fiery  Highland  trader,  John  McLeod,  was 
in  charge  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  house  at  this  point, 
and  we  have  his  account  of  the  attack  and  defence,  somewhat 
bombastic  it  may  be,  but  which,  so  far  as  known  to  the  author, 
has  never  been  published  before. 


TROUBLE   BETWEEN    THE    COMPANIES     223 

COPY   OF   DIARY   IN   PROVINCIAL  LIBRARY,    WINNIPEG. 

"  In  1814-15,  being  in  charge  of  the  whole  Red  River  district, 
I  spent  the  winter  at  the  Forks,  at  the  settlement  there.  On 
June  25th,  1815,  while  I  was  in  charge,  a  sudden  attack  was 
made  by  an  armed  band  of  the  N.-W.  party  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Alexander  Macdonell  (Yellow  Head)  and  Cuthbert 
Grant,  on  the  settlement  and  Hudson's  Bay  Company  fort  at 
the  Forks.  They  numbered  about  seventy  or  eighty,  well 
armed  and  on  horsebark.  Having  had  some  warning  of  it,  I 
assumed  command  of  both  the  colony  and  H.  B.  C.  parties. 
Mustering  with  inferior  numbers,  and  with  only  a  few  guns, 
we  took  a  stand  against  them.  Taking  my  place  amongst  the 
colonists,  I  fought  with  them.  All  fought  bravely  and  kept  up 
the  fight  as  long  as  possible.  Many  all  about  me  falling 
wounded  ;  one  mortally.  Only  thirteen  out  of  our  band 
escaped  unscathed. 

"  The  brunt  of  the  struggle  was  near  the  H.  B.  C.  post,  close 
to  which  was  our  blacksmith's  smithy — a  log  building  about 
ten  feet  by  ten.  Being  hard  pressed,  I  thought  of  trying  the 
little  cannon  (a  three  or  four-pounder)  lying  idle  in  the  post 
where  it  could  not  well  be  used. 

"  One  of  the  settlers  (Hugh  McLean)  went  with  two  of  my 
men,  with  his  cart  to  fetch  it,  with  all  the  cart  chains  he  could 
get  and  some  powder.  Finally,  we  got  the  whole  to  the 
blacksmithy,  where,  chopping  up  the  chain  into  lengths 
for  shot,  we  opened  a  fire  of  chain  shot  on  the  enemy  which 
drove  back  the  main  body  and  scattered  them,  and  saved  the 
post  from  utter  destruction  and  pillage.  All  the  colonists' 
houses  were,  however,  destroyed  by  fire.  Houseless,  wounded, 
and  in  extreme  distress,  they  took  to  the  boats,  and,  saving 
what  they  could,  started  for  Norway  House  (Jack's  River), 
declaring  they  would  never  return. 

"  The  enemy  still  prowled  about,  determined  apparently  to 
expel,  dead  or  alive,  all  of  our  party.  All  of  the  H.  B.  Com- 
pany's officers  and  men  refused  to  remain,  except  the  two 
brave  fellows  in  the  service,  viz.  Archibald  Currie  and  James 
Mclntosh,  who,  with  noble  Hugh  McLean,  joined  in  holding 
the  fort  in  the  smithy.  Governor  Macdonell  was  a  prisoner. 

"  In  their  first  approach  the  enemy  appeared  determined 


224  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

more  to  frighten  than  to  kill.  Their  demonstration  in  line  of 
battle,  mounted,  and  in  full  '  war  paint '  and  equipment  was 
formidable,  but  their  fire,  especially  at  first,  was  desultory. 
Our  party,  numbering  only  about  half  theirs,  while  preserving 
a  general  line  of  defence,  exposed  itself  as  little  as  possible, 
but  returned  the  enemy's  fire,  sharply  checking  the  attack, 
and  our  line  was  never  broken  by  them.  On  the  contrary, 
when  the  chain-firing  began,  the  enemy  retired  out  of  range  of 
our  artillery,  but  at  a  flank  movement  reached  the  colony 
houses,  where  they  quickly  and  resistlessly  plied  the  work  of 
destruction.  To  their  credit  be  it  said,  they  took  no  life  or 
property. 

"  Of  killed,  on  our  side,  there  was  only  poor  John  Warren 
of  H.  B.  C.  service,  a  worthy  brave  gentleman,  who,  taking  a 
leading  part  in  the  battle,  too  fearlessly  exposed  himself.  Of 
the  enemy,  probably,  the  casualties  were  greater,  for  they 
presented  a  better  target,  and  we  certainly  fired  to  kill.  From 
the  smithy  we  could  and  did  protect  the  trade  post,  but  could 
not  the  buildings  of  the  colonists,  which  were  along  the  bank  of 
the  Red  River,  while  the  post  faced  the  Assiniboine  more  than 
the  Red  River.  Fortunately  for  us  in  the  '  fort '  (the  smithy) 
the  short  nights  were  never  too  dark  for  our  watch  and  ward. 

"  The  colonists  were  allowed  to  take  what  they  could  of 
what  belonged  to  them,  and  that  was  but  little,  for  as  yet  they 
had  neither  cow  nor  plough,  only  a  horse  or  two.  There  were 
boats  and  other  craft  enough  to  take  them  all — colonists  and 
H.  B.  C.  people — away,  and  all,  save  my  three  companions 
already  named  and  myself,  took  ship  and  fled.  For  many  days 
after  we  were  under  siege,  living  under  constant  peril ;  but 
unconquerable  in  our  bullet-proof  log  walls,  and  with  our 
terrible  cannon  and  chain  shot. 

"  At  length  the  enemy  retired.  The  post  was  safe,  with 
from  800/.,  to  1000Z.  sterling  worth  of  attractive  trade  goods 
belonging  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  untouched.  I  was 
glad  of  this,  for  it  enabled  me  to  secure  the  services  of  free 
men  about  the  place — French  Canadians  and  half-breeds  not 
in  the  service  of  the  N.-W.  Company — to  restore  matters  and 
prepare  for  the  future. 

"  I  felt  that  we  had  too  much  at  stake  in  the  country  to  give 


TROUBLE   BETWEEN    THE    COMPANIES     225 

it  up,  and  had  every  confidence  in  the  resources  of  the  H.  B. 
Company  and  the  Earl  of  Selkirk  to  hold  their  own  and 
effectually  repel  any  future  attack  from  our  opponents. 

"  I  found  the  free  men  about  the  place  willing  to  work  for 
me  ;  and  at  once  hired  a  force  of  them  for  building  and  other 
works  in  reparation  of  damages  and  in  new  works.  So  soon  as 
I  got  my  post  in  good  order,  I  turned  to  save  the  little  but 
precious  and  promising  crops  of  the  colonists,  whose  return  I 
anticipated,  made  fences  where  required,  and  in  due  time  cut 
and  stacked  their  hay,  &c. 

"  That  done  I  took  upon  me,  without  order  or  suggestion 
from  any  quarter,  to  build  a  house  for  the  Governor  and  his 
staff  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  at  Red  River.  There  was 
no  such  officer  at  that  time,  nor  had  there  ever  been,  but  I  was 
aware  that  such  an  appointment  was  contemplated. 

"  I  selected  for  this  purpose  what  I  considered  a  suitable 
site  at  a  point  or  sharp  bend  in  the  Red  River  about  two  miles 
below  the  Assiniboine,  on  a  slight  rise  on  the  south  side  of  the 
point — since  known  as  Point  Douglas,  the  family  name  of  the 
Earl  of  Selkirk.  Possibly  I  so  christened  it — I  forget. 

"  It  was  of  two  stories  ;  with  main  timbers  of  oak  ;  a  good 
substantial  house  ;  with  windows  of  parchment  in  default  of 
glass."  Here  ends  McLeod's  diary. 

The  Indians  of  the  vicinity  showed  the  colonists  much 
sympathy,  but  on  June  27th,  after  the  hostile  encounter,  some 
thirteen  families,  comprising  from  forty  to  sixty  persons, 
pursued  their  sad  Journey,  piloted  by  friendly  Indians,  to  the 
north  end  of  Lake  Winnipeg,  where  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany post  of  Jack  River  afforded  some  shelter.  McLeod 
and,  as  he  tells  us,  three  men  only  were  left.  These  endeav- 
oured to  protect  the  settlers'  growing  crops,  which  this  year 
showed  great  promise. 

The  expulsion  may  now  be  said  to  have  been  complete. 
The  day  after  the  departure  of  the  expelled  settlers,  the  colony 
dwellings,  with  the  possible  exception  of  the  Governor's  house, 
were  all  burnt  to  the  ground.  In  July  the  desolate  band 
reached  Jack  River  House,  their  future  being  dark  indeed. 
Deliverance  was,  however,  coming  from  two  directions. 
Colin  Robertson,  a  Hudson's  Bay  Company  officer,  arrived 
Q 


226  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY    COMPANY 

from  the  East  with  twenty  Canadians.  On  reaching  the  Red 
River  settlement,  he  found  the  settlers  all  gone,  but  he 
followed  them  speedily  to  their  rendezvous  on  Lake  Winnipeg 
and  returned  with  the  refugees  to  their  deserted  homes  on  Red 
River.  They  were  joined  also  by  about  ninety  settlers  from 
the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  who  had  come  through  to  Red 
River  in  one  season.  The  colony  was  now  rising  into  promise 
again.  A  number  of  the  demolished  buildings  were  soon 
erected  ;  the  colony  took  heart,  and  under  the  new  Governor, 
Robert  Semple,  a  British  officer  who  had  come  with  the  last 
party  of  settlers,  the  prospects  seemed  to  have  improved. 
The  Governor's  dwelling  was  strengthened,  other  dwellings 
were  erected  beside  it,  and  more  necessity  being  now  seen  for 
defence,  the  whole  assumed  a  more  military  aspect,  and  took 
the  name,  after  Lord  Selkirk's  family  name,  Fort  Douglas. 

Though  a  fair  crop  had  been  reaped  by  the  returned  settlers 
from  their  fields,  yet  the  large  addition  to  their  numbers  made 
it  necessary  to  remove  to  Fort  Daer,  where  the  buffalo  were 
plentiful.  This  party  was  under  the  leadership  of  Sheriff 
Alexander  Macdonell,  though  Governor  Semple  was  also  there. 
The  autumn  saw  trouble  at  the  Forks.  The  report  of  disturb- 
ances having  taken  place  between  the  Nor'-Westers  and 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  employes  at  Qu'Appelle  was  heard, 
as  well  as  renewed  threats  of  disturbance  in  the  colony. 
Colin  Robertson  in  October,  1815,  captured  Fort  Gibraltar, 
seized  Duncan  Cameron,  and  recovered  the  field-pieces  and 
other  property  taken  by  the  Nor '-Westers  in  the  preceding 
months.  Though  the  capture  of  Cameron  and  his  fort  thus 
took  place,  and  the  event  was  speedily  followed  by  the  rein- 
statement of  the  trader  on  his  promise  to  keep  the  peace,  yet 
the  report  of  the  seizure  led  to  the  greatest  irritation  in  all 
parts  of  the  country  where  the  two  Companies  had  posts.  All 
through  the  winter,  threatenings  of  violence  filled  the  air. 
The  Bois  Brules  were  arrogant,  and,  led  by  their  faithful 
leader,  Cuthbert  Grant,  looked  upon  themselves  as  the  "  New 
Nation." 

Returning,  after  the  New  Year  of  1816,  from  Fort  Daer, 
Governor  Semple  saw  the  necessity  for  aggressive  action. 
Fort  Gibraltar  was  to  become  the  rendezvous  for  a  Bois  Brules 


TROUBLE   BETWEEN    THE    COMPANIES     227 

force  of  extermination  from  Qu'Appelle,  Fort  des  Prairies 
(Portage  la  Prairie),  and  even  from  the  Saskatchewan.  To 
prevent  this,  Colin  Robertson,  under  the  Governor's  direction, 
recaptured  Fort  Gibraltar  and  held  Cameron  as  a  prisoner. 
This  event  took  place  in  March  or  April  of  1816.  The  legality 
of  this  seizure  was  of  course  much  discussed  between  the 
hostile  parties. 

It  was  deemed  wise,  however,  to  make  a  safe  disposal  of  the 
prisoner  Cameron.  He  was  accordingly  dispatched  under  the 
care  of  Colin  Robertson,  by  way  of  Jack  River,  to  York 
Factory,  to  stand  his  trial  in  England.  Thus  were  reprisals 
made  for  the  capture  and  removal  of  Miles  Macdonell  in  the 
preceding  year,  both  actions  being  of  doubtful  legality.  On 
account  of  the  failure  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  ship  to 
leave  York  Factory  in  that  year,  Cameron  did  not  reach 
England  for  seventeen  months,  where  he  was  immediately 
released. 

The  fall  of  Fort  Gibraltar  was  soon  to  follow  the  deportation 
of  its  commandant.  The  matter  of  the  dismantling  of  Fort 
Gibraltar  was  much  discussed  between  Governor  Semple  and 
his  lieutenant,  Colin  Robertson.  The  latter  was  opposed  to 
the  proposed  destruction  of  the  Nor'-Wester  fort,  knowing  the 
excitement  such  a  course  would  cause.  However,  after  the 
departure  of  Robertson  to  Hudson  Bay  in  charge  of  Cameron, 
the  Governor  carried  out  his  purpose,  and  in  the  end  of  May, 
1816,  the  buildings  were  pulled  down.  A  force  of  some  thirty 
men  were  employed,  and,  expecting  as  they  did,  a  possible 
interruption  from  the  West,  the  work  was  done  in  a  week  or  a 
little  more. 

The  materials  were  taken  apart ;  the  stockade  wa3  made 
into  a  raft,  the  remainder  was  piled  upon  it,  and  all  was  floated 
down  Red  River  to  the  site  of  Fort  Douglas.  The  material 
was  then  used  for  strengthening  the  fort  and  building  new 
houses  in  it.  Thus  ended  Fort  Gibraltar.  A  considerable 
establishment  it  was  in  its  time  ;  its  name  was  undoubtedly  a 
misnomer  so  far  as  strength  was  concerned  ;  yet  it  points  to 
its  origination  in  troublous  times. 

The  vigorous  policy  carried  out  in  regard  to  Fort  Gibraltar 
was  likewise  shown  in  the  district  south  of  the  Forks.  As  we 


228  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

have  seen,  to  the  south,  Fort  Daer  had  been  erected,  and 
thither,  winter  by  winter,  the  settlers  had  gone  for  subsistence. 
Here,  too,  was  the  Nor'-Wester  fort  of  Pembina  House.  Dur- 
ing the  time  when  Governor  Semple  and  Colin  Robertson  were 
maturing  their  plans,  it  was  determined  to  seize  Pembina.  No 
sooner  had  the  news  of  Cameron's  seizure  reached  Fort  Daer, 
than  Sheriff  Macdonell,  who  was  in  charge,  organized  an 
expedition,  took  Pembina  House,  and  its  officers  and  inhabit- 
ants. The  prisoners  were  sent  to  Fort  Douglas,  and  were 
liberated  on  pledges  of  good  behaviour,  and  the  military  stores 
were  also  taken  to  Fort  Douglas.  The  reasons  given  by  the 
colony  people  for  this  course  are  ' '  self-defence  and  the  security 
of  the  lives  of  the  settlers."  About  the  end  of  April,  the 
settlers  returned  from  Fort  Daer,  and  were  placed  on  their 
respective  lots  along  the  Red  River. 

All  events  now  plainly  pointed  to  armed  disturbances  and 
bloodshed.  The  policy  of  Governor  Semple  was  too  vigorous 
when  the  inflammable  elements  in  the  country  were  borne 
in  mind.  There  was  in  the  country  a  class  called  "  Free 
Canadians,"  i.e.  those  French  Canadian  trappers  and  traders 
not  connected  with  either  Company,  who  obtained  a  precarious 
living  for  themselves,  their  Indian  wives,  and  half-breed 
children.  These,  fearing  trouble,  betook  themselves  to  the 
plains.  The  Indians  of  the  vicinity  seemed  to  have  gained  a 
liking  for  the  colonists  and  their  leaders.  When  they  heard 
the  threatenings  from  the  West,  two  of  the  chiefs  came  to 
Governor  Semple  and  offered  the  assistance  of  their  bands. 
This  the  Governor  could  not  accept,  whereat  the  chiefs  gave 
voice  to  their  sorrow  and  disappointment.  Governor  Semple 
seems  to  have  disregarded  all  these  omens  of  com  ing  trouble, 
and  to  have  acted  almost  without  common  prudence.  No 
doubt,  having  but  lately  come  to  the  country,  he  failed  to 
understand  the  daring  character  of  his  opponents. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

THE   SKIRMISH  OF  SEVEN   OAKS. 

Leader  of  the  Bois  BrOles — A  candid  letter — Account  of  a  prisoner — • 
"  Yellow  Head  " — Speech  to  the  Indians — The  chief  knows 
nothing — On  fleet  Indian  ponies— An  eye-witness  in  Fort  Douglas 
— A  rash  Governor — The  massacre — "  For  God's  sake  save 
my  life  " — The  Governor  and  twenty  others  slain — Colonists 
driven  out — Eastern  levy  meets  the  settlers — Effects  seized — 
Wild  revelry — Chanson  of  Pierre  Falcon. 

THE  troubles  between  the  Hudson's  Bay  and  North-West 
Companies  were  evidently  coming  to  a  crisis.  The  Nor'- 
Westers  laid  their  plans  with  skill,  and  determined  to  send  one 
expedition  from  Fort  William  westward  and  another  from 
Qu'Appelle  eastward,  and  so  crush  out  the  opposition  at  Red 
River. 

From  the  west  the  expedition  was  under  Cuthbert  Grant, 
and  he,  appealing  to  his  fellow  Metis,  raised  the  standard  of  the 
Bois  Brules  and  called  his  followers  the  "  New  Nation." 
Early  in  March  the  Bois  Brules'  leader  wrote  to  Trader  J.  D. 
Cameron,  detailing  his  plans  and  expectations.  We  quote 
from  his  letter  :  "  I  am  now  safe  and  sound,  thank  God,  for  I 
believe  that  it  is  more  than  Colin  Robertson,  or  any  of  his 
suite,  dare  offer  the  least  insult  to  any  of  the  Bois  Brules, 
although  Robertson  made  use  of  some  expressions  which  I 
hope  he  will  swallow  in  the  spring.  He  shall  see  that  it  is 
neither  fifteen,  thirty,  nor  fifty  of  his  best  horsemen  that  can 
make  the  Bois  Brules  bow  to  him.  Our  people  at  Fort  Des 
Prairies  and  English  River  are  all  to  be  here  in  the  spring. 
It  is  hoped  that  we  shall  come  off  with  flying  colours,  and 
never  to  see  any  of  them  again  in  the  colonizing  way  in  Red 
River.  .  .  .  We  are  to  remain  at  the  Forks  to  pass  the 
summer,  for  fear  they  should  play  us  the  same  trick  as  last 

229 


230  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY    COMPANY 

summer  of  coming  back  ;  but  they  shall  receive  a  warm 
reception." 

The  details  of  this  western  expedition  are  well  given  by 
Lieutenant  Pierre  Chrysologue  Pambrun,  an  officer  of  the 
Canadian  Voltigeurs,  a  regiment  which  had  distinguished  itself 
in  the  late  war  against  the  United  States.  Pambrun  had 
entered  the  service  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  as  a  trader, 
and  been  sent  to  the  Qu'Appelle  district.  Having  gone  west  to 
Qu'Appelle,  he  left  that  western  post  with  five  boat  loads  of 
pemmican  and  furs  to  descend  the  Assiniboine  Kiver  to  the 
Forks.  Early  in  May,  near  the  Grand  Rapids,  Pambrun  and 
his  party  touched  the  shore  of  the  river,  when  they  were  imme- 
diately surrounded  by  a  party  of  Bois  Brules  and  their  boats 
and  cargoes  were  all  seized  by  their  assailants.  The  pemmican 
was  landed  and  the  boats  taken  across  the  river.  The  unfor- 
tunate Pambrun  was  for  five  days  kept  in  durance  vile  by 
Cuthbert  Grant  and  Peter  Pangman,  who  headed  the  attacking 
party,  and  the  prisoner  was  carried  back  to  Qu'Appelle. 

While  Pambrun  was  here  as  prisoner,  he  was  frequently  told 
by  Cuthbert  Grant  that  the  half-breeds  were  intending  in  the 
summer  to  destroy  the  Red  River  settlements  ;  their  leader 
often  reminded  the  Bois  Brules  of  this,  and  they  frequently 
sang  their  war  songs  to  waken  ardour  for  the  expeditions. 
Captors  and  prisoner  shortly  afterward  left  the  western  fort 
and  went  down  the  river  to  Grand  Rapids.  Here  the  captured 
pemmican  was  re-embarked  and  the  Journey  was  resumed. 
Near  the  forks  of  the  Qu'Appelle  River  a  band  of  Indians 
was  encamped.  The  Indians  were  summoned  to  meet 
Commander  Macdonell,  who  spoke  to  them  in  French,  though 
Pangman  interpreted. 

"  MY  FRIENDS  AND  RELATIONS, — I  address  you  bashfully, 
for  I  have  not  a  pipe  of  tobacco  to  give  you.  All  our  goods 
have  been  taken  by  the  English,  but  we  are  now  upon  a  party 
to  drive  them  away.  Those  people  have  been  spoiling  the  fair 
lands  which  belonged  to  you  and  the  Bois  Brules,  and  to  which 
they  have  no  right.  They  have  been  driving  away  the  buffalo . 
You  will  soon  be  poor  and  miserable  if  the  English  stay.  But 
we  will  drive  them  away  if  the  Indians  do  not,  for  the  North  - 
West  Company  and]the  Bois  Brules  are  one.  If  you  (speaking 


THE    SKIRMISH   OF   SEVEN   OAKS          231 

to  the  chief)  and  some  of  your  young  men  will  join  I  shall  be 
glad." 

The  chief  responded  coldly  and  gave  no  assistance. 

Next  morning  the  Indians  departed,  and  the  party  proceeded 
on  their  journey.  Pambrun  was  at  first  left  behind,  but  in 
the  evening  was  given  a  spare  horse  and  overtook  Grant's 
cavalcade  at  the  North-West  Fort  near  Brandon  House.  At 
the  North-West  Fort  Pambrun  saw  tobacco,  carpenters'  tools, 
a  quantity  of  furs,  and  other  things  which  had  been  seized  in  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Fort,  Brandon  House,  and  been  brought  over  as 
booty  to  the  Nor'-Westers. 

Resuming  their  journey  the  traders  kept  to  their  boats  down 
the  Assiniboine,  while  the  Bois  Brules  went  chiefly  on  horse- 
back until  they  reached  Portage  La  Prairie.  Sixty  miles  had 
yet  to  be  traversed  before  the  Forks  were  reached.  The  Bois 
Brules  now  prepared  their  mounted  force.  Cuthbert  Grant 
was  Commander.  Dressed  in  the  picturesque  garb  of  the 
country,  the  Metis  now  arrived  with  guns,  pistols,  lances,  bows, 
and  arrows.  Pambrun  remained  behind  with  Alexander 
Macdonell,  but  was  clearly  led  to  believe  that  the  mounted 
force  would  enter  Fort  Douglas  and  destroy  the  settlement.  On 
their  fleet  Indian  ponies  these  children  of  the  prairie  soon  made 
their  journey  from  Portage  La  Prairie  to  the  Selkirk  settlement. 

We  are  indebted  to  the  facile  narrator,  John  Pritchard,  for 
an  account  of  their  arrival  and  their  attack.  He  states  that  in 
June,  1816,  he  was  living  at  Red  River,  and  quite  looked  for  an 
attack  from  the  western  levy  just  described.  Watch  was  con- 
stantly kept  from  the  guerite  of  Fort  Douglas  for  the  approach- 
ing foe.  The  half-breeds  turned  aside  from  the  Assiniboine 
some  four  miles  up  the  River  to  a  point  a  couple  of  miles  below 
Fort  Douglas.  Governor  Semple  and  his  attendants  followed 
them  with  the  glass  in  their  route  across  the  plain.  The 
Governor  and  about  twenty  others  sallied  out  to  meet  the 
western  party.  On  his  way  out  he  sent  back  for  a  piece  of 
cannon,  which  was  in  the  fort,  to  be  brought.  Soon  after  this 
the  half-breeds  approached  Governor  Semple's  party  in  the 
form  of  a  half  moon.  The  Highland  settlers  had  betaken 
themselves  for  protection  to  Fort  Douglas,  and  in  their  Gaelic 
tongue  made  sad  complaint. 


232  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

A  daring  fellow  named  Boucher  then  came  out  of  the  ranks 
of  his  party,  and,  on  horseback,  approached  Semple  and  his 
body-guard.  He  gesticulated  wildly,  and  called  out  in  broken 
English,  "  What  do  you  want  ?  What  do  you  want  ?  " 
Governor  Semple  answered,  ' '  What  do  you  want  ?  "  To  this 
Boucher  replied,  "  We  want  our  fort."  The  Governor  said, 
"  Well,  go  to  your  fort."  Nothing  more  was  said,  but 
Governor  Semple  was  seen  to  put  his  hand  on  Boucher's  gun. 
At  this  juncture  a  shot  was  fired  from  some  part  of  the  line, 
and  the  firing  became  general.  Many  of  the  witnesses  who 
saw  the  affair  affirmed  that  the  shot  first  fired  was  from  the 
Bois  Brules'  line. 

The  attacking  party  were  most  deadly  in  their  fire.  Semple 
and  his  staff,  as  well  as  others  of  his  party,  fell  to  the  number 
of  twenty-two.  The  affair  was  most  disastrous. 

Pritchard  says  : — 

"  I  did  not  see  the  Governor  fall,  though  I  saw  his  corpse 
the  next  day  at  the  fort.  When  I  saw  Captain  Rogers  fall  I 
expected  to  share  his  fate.  As  there  was  a  French  Canadian 
among  those  who  surrounded  me,  and  who  had  just  made  an 
end  of  my  friend,  I  said,  '  Lavigne,  you  are  a  Frenchman,  you 
are  a  man,  you  are  a  Christian.  For  God's  sake  save  my  life  ; 
for  God's  sake  try  and  save  it.  I  give  myself  up  ;  I  am  your 
prisoner.' '' 

To  the  appeals  of  Pritchard  Lavigne  responded,  and,  placing 
himself  before  his  friend,  defended  him  from  the  infuriated 
half-breeds,  who  would  have  taken  his  life.  One  Primeau 
wished  to  shoot  Pritchard,  saying  that  the  Englishman  had 
formerly  killed  his  brother.  At  length  they  decided  to  spare 
Pritchard's  life,  though  they  called  him  a  petit  chien,  told 
him  he  had  not  long  to  live,  and  would  be  overtaken  on  their 
return.  It  transpired  that  Governor  Semple  was  not  killed  by 
the  first  shot  that  disabled  him,  but  had  his  thigh-bone  broken. 
A  kind  French  Canadian  undertook  to  care  for  the  Governor, 
but  in  the  fury  of  the  fight  an  Indian,  who  was  the  greatest 
rascal  in  the  company,  shot  the  wounded  man  in  the  breast, 
and  thus  killed  him  instantly. 

The  Bois  Brules,  indeed,  many  of  them,  were  disguised  as 
Indians,  and,  painted  as  for  the  war  dance,  gave  the  war 


w<?£ £ -~~  i. ;,    K^SC  ' — ' [ \. ^ 


S  K  V  K  N    ( •  \  KS    Mi  i  \UMENT. 


THE    SKIRMISH    OF   SEVEN   OAKS          233 

whoop,  and  made  a  hideous  noise  and  shouting.  When  their 
victory  was  won  they  declared  that  their  purpose  was  to  weaken 
the  colony  and  put  an  end  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
opposition.  Cuthbert  Grant  then  proceeded  to  complete  his 
work.  He  declared  to  Pritchard  that  "  if  Fort  Douglas  were 
not  immediately  given  up  with  all  the  public  property, 
instantly  and  without  resistance,  man,  woman,  and  child 
would  be  put  to  death.  He  stated  that  the  attack  would  be 
made  upon  it  the  same  night,  and  if  a  single  shot  were  fired, 
that  would  be  the  signal  for  the  indiscriminate  destruction  of 
every  soul/' 

This  declaration  of  Cromwellian  policy  was  very  alarming. 
Pritchard  believed  it  meant  the  killing  of  all  the  women  and 
children.  He  remonstrated  with  the  prairie  leader,  reminding 
him  that  the  colonists  were  his  father's  relatives.  Somewhat 
softened  by  this  appeal,  Grant  consented  to  spare  the  lives  of 
the  settlers  if  all  the  arms  and  public  property  were  given 
up  and  the  colony  deserted.  An  inventory  of  property  was 
accordingly  taken,  and  in  the  evening  of  the  third  day  after  the 
battle,  the  mournful  company,  for  a  second  time,  like  Acadian 
refugees,  left  behind  them  homes  and  firesides  and  went  into 
exile. 

The  Joyful  news  was  sent  west  by  the  victorious  Metis. 
Pambrun  at  Portage  La  Prairie  received  news  from  a  messenger 
who  had  hastened  away  to  report  to  Macdonell  the  result  of 
the  attack.  Hearing  the  account  given  by  the  courier,  the 
trader  was  full  of  glee.  He  announced  in  French  to  the  people 
who  were  anxiously  awaiting  the  news,  "  Sacre  nom  de  Dieu, 
bonnes  nouvelles,  vingt-deux  Anglais  de  tues."  Those  present, 
especially  Lamarre,  Macdonell,  and  Sieveright,  gave  vent  to 
their  feelings  boisterously. 

Many  of  the  party  mounted  their  Indian  ponies  and  hastened 
to  the  place  of  conflict ;  others  went  by  water  down  the 
Assmiboine.  The  commander  sent  word  ahead  that  the 
colonists  were  to  be  detained  till  his  arrival.  Pambrun,  being 
taken  part  of  the  way  by  water,  was  delayed,  and  so  was  too 
late  in  arriving  to  see  the  colonists.  Cuthbert  Grant  and 
nearly  fifty  of  the  assailing  party  were  in  the  fort. 

Pambrun,  having  obtained  permission  to  visit  Seven  Oaks, 


234  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY    COMPANY 

the  scene  of  the  conflict,  was  greatly  distressed  by  the  sight. 
The  uncovered  limbs  of  many  of  the  dead  were  above  ground, 
and  the  bodies  were  in  a  mangled  condition.  This  unfortunate 
affair  for  many  a  day  cast  a  reproach  upon  the  Nor '-Westers, 
although  the  prevailing  opinion  was  that  Grant  was  a  brave 
man  and  conducted  himself  well  in  the  engagement. 

We  have  now  to  enquire  as  to  the  movements  of  the  expe- 
dition coming  westward  from  Fort  William.  The  route  of 
upwards  of  four  hundred  miles  was  a  difficult  one.  Accord- 
ingly, before  they  reached  Red  River,  Fort  Douglas  was 
already  in  the  hands  of  the  Nor'-Westers.  With  the  expedi- 
tion from  Fort  William  came  a  non-commissioned  officer  of  the 
De  Meuron  regiment,  one  of  the  Swiss  bodies  of  mercenaries 
disbanded  after  the  war  of  1812-15.  This  was  Frederick 
Damien  Huerter.  His  account  is  circumstantial  and  clear. 
He  had,  as  leading  a  military  life,  entered  the  service  of  the 
Nor'-Westers,  and  coming  west  to  Lake  Superior,  followed  the 
leadership  of  the  fur  trader  Alexander  Norman  McLeod  and 
two  of  the  officers  of  his  old  regiment,  Lieutenants  Missani  and 
Brumby. 

Arriving  at  Fort  William,  a  short  time  was  given  for  provid- 
ing the  party  with  arms  and  equipment,  and  soon  the  lonely 
voyageurs,  on  this  occasion  in  a  warlike  spirit,  were  paddling 
themselves  over  the  fur  traders'  route  in  five  large  north 
canoes. 

On  the  approach  to  Rainy  Lake  Fort,  as  many  of  the  party 
as  were  soldiers  dressed  in  full  regimentals,  in  order  to  impress 
upon  the  Indians  that  they  had  the  Kong's  authority.  Strong 
drink  and  tobacco  were  a  sufficient  inducement  to  about 
twenty  of  the  Indians  to  join  the  expedition.  On  the  day  before 
the  fight  at  Seven  Oaks,  the  party  had  arrived  at  the  fort 
known  as  Bas  de  la  Riviere,  near  Lake  Winnipeg.  Guns  and 
two  small  brass  field -pieces,  three  pounders,  were  put  in  order, 
and  the  company  crossed  to  the  mouth  of  the  Red  River, 
ascended  to  Nettley  Creek,  and  there  bivouacked,  forty  miles 
from  the  scene  of  action  and  two  days  after  the  skirmish. 
They  had  expected  here  to  meet  the  Qu'Appelle  brigade  of 
Cuthbert  Grant.  No  doubt  this  was  the  original  plan,  but 
the  rashness  of  the  Governor  and  the  hot  blood  of  the 


THE   SKIRMISH   OF   SEVEN   OAKS  235 

Metis  had  brought  on  the  engagement,  with  the  result  we 
have  seen. 

Knowing  nothing  of  the  fight,  the  party  started  to  ascend  the 
river,  and  soon  met  seven  or  eight  boats,  laden  with  colonists, 
under  the  command  of  the  sheriff  of  the  Red  River  settlement. 
McLeod  then  heard  of  the  fight,  ordered  the  settlers  ashore, 
examined  all  the  papers  among  their  baggage,  and  took 
possession  of  all  letters,  account  books,  and  documents  what- 
soever. Even  Governor  Semple 's  trunks,  for  which  there  were 
no  keys,  were  broken  open  and  examined.  The  colonists  were 
then  set  free  and  proceeded  on  their  sad  journey,  Charles  Grant 
being  detailed  to  seeing  them  safely  away. 

Huerter  says  :— 

"  On  the  26th  I  went  up  the  river  to  Fort  Douglas.  There 
were  many  of  the  partners  of  the  North-West  Company  with 
us.  At  Fort  Douglas  the  brigade  was  received  with  discharges 
of  artillery  and  fire-arms.  The  fort  was  under  Mr.  Alexander 
Macdonell,  and  there  was  present  a  great  gathering  of  Bois 
Brides,  clerks,  and  interpreters,  as  well  as  partners  of  the 
Company.  On  our  arrival  Archibald  Norman  McLeod,  our 
leader,  took  the  management  and  direction  of  the  fort,  and  all 
made  whatever  they  chose  of  the  property  it  contained.  The 
Bois  Brules  were  entirely  under  the  orders  and  control  of 
McLeod  and  the  partners.  McLeod  occupied  the  apartments 
lately  belonging  to  Governor  Semple.  After  my  arrival  I  saw 
all  the  Bois  Brules  assembled  in  a  large  outer  room,  which 
had  served  as  a  mess-room  for  the  officers  of  the  colony. 

"  I  rode  the  same  day  to  the  field  of  '  Seven  Oaks/  where 
Governor  Semple  and  so  many  of  his  people  had  lost  their 
lives,  in  company  with  a  number  of  those  who  had  been 
employed  on  that  occasion — all  on  horseback.  At  this  period, 
scarcely  a  week  after  June  19th,  I  saw  a  number  of  human 
bodies  scattered  about  the  plain,  and  nearly  reduced  to 
skeletons,  there  being  then  very  little  flesh  adhering  to  the 
bones  ;  and  I  was  informed  on  the  spot  that  many  of  the 
bodies  had  been  partly  devoured  by  dogs  and  wolves." 

There  was  a  scene  of  great  rejoicing  the  same  evening  at  the 
fort,  the  Bois  Brules  being  painted  and  dancing  naked,  after  the 
manner  of  savages,  to  the  great  amusement  of  their  masters. 


236  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

On  June  29th  most  of  the  partners  and  the  northern  brigade 
set  off  for  the  rapids  at  the  mouth  of  the  Saskatchewan.  The 
departure  of  the  grand  brigade  was  signalized  by  the  discharge 
of  artillery  from  Fort  Douglas. 

The  Nor'-Westers  were  now  in  the  ascendant.  The  Bois 
Bruits  were  naturally  in  a  state  of  exultation.  Their  wild 
Indian  blood  was  at  the  boiling  point.  Fort  Douglas  had  been 
seized  without  opposition,  and  for  several  days  the  most  riotous 
scenes  took  place.  Threats  of  violence  were  freely  indulged  in 
against  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  Lord  Selkirk,  and  the 
colonists.  As  Pritchard  remarks,  there  was  nothing  now  for 
the  discouraged  settlers  but  to  betake  themselves  for  the  second 
time  to  the  rendezvous  at  the  north  of  Lake  Winnipeg,  and 
there  await  deliverance  at  the  hands  of  their  noble  patron,  Lord 
Selkirk.  The  exuberance  of  the  French  half-breeds  found  its 
way  into  verse.  We  give  the  chanson  of  Pierre  Falcon  and 
the  translation  of  it : — 

CHANSON  ECRITE  PAR  PIERRE  FALCON. 

Voulez-vous  ecouter  chanter  une  chanson  de  verite. 
Le  dix-neuf  de  Juin  les  Bois  Brules  sont  arrives 
Comme  des  braves  guerriers, 
Sont  arrives  a  la  grenouillere. 

Nous  avons  fait  trois  prisonniers 

Des  Orcanais  ?     Us  sont  ici  pour  piller  notre  pays, 

Etant  sur  le  point  de  debarquer, 

Deux  de  nos  gens  se  sont  ecri6s, 

"  Voila  1' Anglais  qui  vient  nous  attaquer." 

Tous  aussitfit  nous  sommes  devir&s 

Pour  aller  les  rencontrer. 

J'avons  cerne  la  bande  de  grenadiers  ; 

Us  sont  immobiles  ? — Us  sont  dementes  ? 

J'avons  agi  comme  des  gens  d'honneur, 

Nous  envoyames  un  ambassadeur. 

"  Gouverneur,  voulez-vous  arr^ter  un  petit  moment, 

Nous  voulons  vous  parler." 

Le  gouverneur,  qui  est  enrage, 

II  dit  a  ses  soldats,  "  Tirez.n 

Le  premier  coup  1' Anglais  le  tire, 

L' ambassadeur  a  presque  manque  d'etre  tue, 

Le  gouverneur  se  croyant  1'empereur, 

II  agit  avec  rigueur, 

Le  gouverneur,  se  croyant  1'empereur, 

A  son  malheur  agit  avec  trop  de  rigueur. 


THE   SKIRMISH   OF   SEVEN   OAKS          237 

Ayant  vu  passe  les  Bois  Brules, 
II  a  parti  pour  nous  epouvanter. 
II  s'est  trompe  ;   il  s'est  bien  fait  tuer 
Quantite  de  sea  grenadiers. 

J'avons  tue  presque  toute  son  armee  ; 

De  la  bande  quatre  de  cinq  se  sont  sauves 

Si  vous  aviez  vu  les  Anglais 

Et  tous  les  Bois  Brules  apr6s — 

De  butte  en  butte  les  Anglais  culbutaient ; 

Les  Bois  Brules  jetaient  des  cris  de  joie. 

Qui  en  a  compose  la  chanson  ? 

C'est  Pierre  Falcon,  le  bon 

Elle  a  ete  faite  et  composee 

Sur  la  victoire  qui  nous  avons  gagnee. 

Elle  a  ete  faite  et  composee. 

Chantons  la  gloire  de  tous  ces  Bois  BrOles. 

SONG   WRITTEN   BY   PlERRE   FALCON. 

Come,  listen  to  this  song  of  truth, 
A  song  of  brave  Bois  Brfiles, 
Who  at  Frog  Plain  took  three  captives, 
Strangers  come  to  rob  our  country. 

Where  dismounting  there  to  rest  us, 
A  cry  is  raised,  "  The  English  ! 
They  are  coming  to  attack  us." 
So  we  hasten  forth  to  meet  them. 

I  looked  upon  their  army, 
They  are  motionless  and  downcast ; 
So,  as  honour  would  incline  us, 
We  desire  with    them  to  parley. 

But  their  leader,  moved  with  anger, 
Gives  the  word  to  fire  upon  us ; 
And  imperiously  repeats  it, 
Rushing  on  to  his  destruction. 

Having  seen  us  pass  his  stronghold, 
He  has  thought  to  strike  with  terror 
The  Bois  Brules. — Ah  !   mistaken, 
Many  of  his  soldiers  perish. 

But  a  few  escaped  the  slaughter, 
Rushing  from  the  field  of  battle ; 
Oh,  to  see  the  English  fleeing  ! 
Oh,  the  shouts  of  their  pursuers  ! 

Who  has  sung  this  song  of  triumph  ? 
The  good  Pierre  Falcon  has  composed  it, 
That  his  praise  of  these  Bois  Brules 
Might  be  evermore  recorded. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

LORD  SELKIRK  TO  THE  RESCUE. 

The  Earl  in  Montreal — Alarming  news — Engages  a  body  of  Swiss — 
The  De  Meurons — Embark  for  the  North- West — Kawtawabetay's 
story — Hears  of  Seven  Oaks — Lake  Superior — Lord  Selkirk — A 
doughty  Douglas — Seizes  Fort  William — Canoes  upset  and  Nor'- 
Westers  drowned — "A  Banditti" — The  Earl's  blunder — A 
winter  march — Fort  Douglas  recaptured — His  Lordship  soothes 
the  settlers— An  Indian  Treaty— "  The  Silver  Chief  "—The 
Earl's  note-book. 

THE  sad  story  of  the  beleaguered  and  excited  colonists  reached 
the  ears  of  Lord  Selkirk  through,  his  agents.  The  trouble 
threatening  his  settlers  determined  the  energetic  founder  to 
visit  Canada  for  himself,  and,  if  possible,  the  infant  colony. 
Accordingly,  late  in  the  year  1815,  in  company  with  his  family 
— consisting  of  the  Countess,  his  son,  and  two  daughters — he 
reached  Montreal.  The  news  of  the  first  dispersion  of  the 
colonists,  their  flight  to  Norway  House,  and  the  further 
threatenings  of  the  Bois  Brules,  arrived  about  the  time  of 
their  coming  to  New  York.  Lord  Selkirk  hastened  on  to 
Montreal,  but  it  was  too  late  in  the  season,  being  about  the 
end  of  October,  to  penetrate  to  the  interior. 

He  must  winter  in  Montreal.  He  was  here  in  the  very 
midst  of  the  enemy.  With  energy,  characteristic  of  the  man, 
he  brought  the  matter  of  protection  of  his  colony  urgently 
before  the  Government  of  Lower  Canada.  In  a  British 
colony  surely  the  rights  of  property  of  a  British  subject  would 
be  protected,  and  surely  the  safety  of  hundreds  of  loyal  people 
could  not  be  trifled  with.  As  we  shall  see  in  a  later  chapter, 
the  high-minded  nobleman  counted  without  his  host ;  he  had 
but  to  live  a  few  years  in  the  New  World  of  that  day  to  find 
how  skilfully  the  forms  of  law  can  be  adapted  to  carry  out 
illegal  objects  and  shield  law-breakers. 

238 


LORD    SELKIRK    TO    THE    RESCUE          239 

As  early  as  February  of  that  year  (1815),  dreading  the 
threatenings  even  then  made  by  the  North-West  Company,  he 
had  represented  to  Lord  Bathurst,  the  British  Secretary  of 
State,  the  urgent  necessity  of  an  armed  force,  not  necessarily 
very  numerous,  being  sent  to  the  Red  River  settlement  to 
maintain  order  in  the  colony.  Now,  after  the  outrageous 
proceedings  of  the  summer  of  1815  and  the  arrival  of  the 
dreary  intelligence  from  Red  River,  Lord  Selkirk  again  brings 
the  matter  before  the  authorities,  this  time  before  Sir  Gordon 
Drummond,  Governor  of  Lower  Canada,  and  encloses  a  full 
account  of  the  facts  as  to  the  expulsion  of  the  settlers  from 
their  homes,  and  of  the  many  acts  of  violence  perpetrated  at 
Red  River. 

Nothing  being  gained  in  this  way,  his  Lordship  determined 
to  undertake  an  expedition  himself,  as  soon  as  it  could  be 
organized,  and  carry  assistance  to  his  persecuted  people,  who, 
he  knew,  had  been  gathered  together  by  Colin  Robertson,  and 
to  whom  he  had  sent  as  Governor,  Mr.  Semple,  in  whom  he 
reposed  great  confidence.  We  have  seen  that  during  the 
winter  of  1815-16,  peace  and  a  certain  degree  of  confidence 
prevailed  among  the  settlers,  more  than  half  of  whom  were 
spending  their  first  winter  in  the  country.  Fort  Douglas  was 
regarded  as  strong  enough  to  resist  a  considerable  attack,  and 
the  presence  of  Governor  Semple,  a  military  officer,  was 
thought  a  guarantee  for  the  protection  of  the  people.  During 
the  winter,  however,  Lord  Selkirk  learned  enough  to  assure 
him  that  the  danger  was  not  over — that,  indeed,  a  more 
determined  attack  than  ever  would  be  made  as  soon  as  the 
next  season  should  open.  He  had  been  sworn  in  as  a  Justice 
of  the  Peace  in  Upper  Canada  and  for  the  Indian  territories  ; 
he  had  obtained  for  his  personal  protection  from  the  Governor 
the  promise  of  a  sergeant  and  six  men  of  the  British  army 
stationed  in  Canada,  but  this  was  not  sufficient. 

He  undertook  a  plan  of  placing  upon  his  own  land  in  the 
colony  a  number  of  persons  as  settlers  who  could  be  called 
upon  in  case  of  emergency,  as  had  been  the  intention  in  the 
case  of  the  Highland  colonists,  to  whom  muskets  had  been 
furnished.  The  close  of  the  Napoleonic  wars  had  left  a  large 
number  of  the  soldiers  engaged  in  these  wars  out  of  employ- 


240  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

ment,  the  British.  Government  having  been  compelled  to  reduce 
the  size  of  the  army.  During  the  Napoleonic  wars  a  number 
of  soldiers  of  adventure  from  Switzerland  and  Italy,  captured 
by  Britain  in  Spain,  entered  her  service  and  were  useful  troops. 
Two  of  these  regiments,  one  named  "  De  Meuron,"  and  the 
other  "  Watteville,"  had  been  sent  to  Canada  to  assist  in  the 
war  against  the  United  States.  This  war  being  now  over  also, 
orders  came  to  Sir  Gordon  Drummond  to  disband  the  two 
regiments  in  May,  1815.  The  former  of  the  regiments  was  at 
the  time  stationed  at  Montreal,  the  latter  at  Kingston. 

From  these  bodies  of  men  Lord  Selkirk  undertook  to  provide 
his  colony  with  settlers  willing  to  defend  it.  The  enemies 
of  Lord  Selkirk  have  been  very  free  in  their  expression  of 
opinion  as  to  the  worthlessness  of  these  soldiers  and  their 
unfitness  as  settlers.  It  is  worthy  of  notice,  however,  that  the 
Nor'-Westers  did  not  scruple  to  use  Messrs.  Missani  and 
Brumby,  as  well  as  Reinhard  and  Huerter  of  the  same  corps, 
to  carry  out  their  own  purposes.  The  following  order,  given 
by  Sir  John  Coape  Sherbrooke,  effectually  disposes  of  such  a 
calumny  : — 

"  Quebec,  July  26th,  1816. 

"  In  parting  with  the  regiments  '  De  Meuron  '  and  '  Watte- 
ville/  both  of  which  corps  his  Excellency  has  had  the  good 
fortune  of  having  under  his  command  in  other  parts  of  the 
world,  Sir  John  Sherbrooke  desires  Lieutenant -Colonel  De 
Meuron  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  May,  and  the  officers  and 
men  of  these  corps  will  accept  his  congratulations  on  having, 
by  their  conduct  in  the  Canadas,  maintained  the  reputation 
which  they  have  deservedly  acquired  by  their  former  services. 
His  Excellency  can  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  his 
Majesty's  service  in  these  provinces  has  derived  important 
advantages  during  the  late  war  from  the  steadiness,  discipline, 
and  efficiency  of  these  corps. 

"  J.  HABVEY,  Lieutenant-Colonel,  D.A.G." 

Testimony  to  the  same  effect  is  given  by  the  officer  in 
command  of  the  garrison  of  Malta,  on  their  leaving  that  island 
to  come  to  Canada. 


LORD    SELKIRK    TO    THE   RESCUE          241 

These  men  afforded  the  material  for  Lord  Selkirk's  purpose, 
viz.  to  till  the  soil  and  protect  the  colony.  Like  a  wise  man, 
however,  he  made  character  the  ground  of  engagement  in  the 
case  of  all  whom  he  took.  To  those  who  came  to  terms  with 
him  he  agreed  to  give  a  sufficient  portion  of  land,  agricultural 
implements,  and  as  wages  for  working  the  boats  on  the  voyage 
eight  dollars  a  month.  It  was  further  agreed  that  should  any 
choose  to  leave  Red  River  on  reaching  it,  they  should  be  taken 
back  by  his  Lordship  free  of  expense. 

Early  in  June,  1816,  four  officers  and  about  eighty  men  of 
the  "  De  Meurons  "  left  Montreal  in  Lord  Selkirk's  employ 
and  proceeded  westward  to  Kingston.  Here  twenty  more  of 
the  "  Watte ville  "  regiment  joined  their  company.  Thence  the 
expedition,  made  up  by  the  addition  of  one  hundred  and 
thirty  canoe-men,  pushed  on  to  York  (Toronto),  and  from 
York  northward  to  Lake  Simcoe  and  Georgian  Bay. 

Across  this  Bay  and  Lake  Huron  they  passed  rapidly  on  to 
Sault  Ste.  Marie,  Lord  Selkirk  leaving  the  expedition  before 
reaching  that  place  to  go  to  Drummond's  Isle,  which  was  the 
last  British  garrison  in  Upper  Canada,  and  at  which  point 
he  was  to  receive  the  sergeant  and  six  men  granted  for  his 
personal  protection  by  the  Governor  of  Canada.  At  Drum- 
mond's  Island  a  council  was  held  with  Kawtawabetay,  an 
Ojibeway  chief,  by  the  Indian  Department,  Lieut. -Colonel 
Maule,  of  the  104th  Regiment,  presiding.  Kawtawabetay 
there  informed  the  council  that  in  the  spring  of  1815  two  North  - 
West  traders,  McKenzie  and  Morrison,  told  him  that  they 
would  give  him  and  his  people  all  the  goods  or  merchandise 
and  rum  that  they  had  at  Fort  William,  Leach  Lake,  and 
Sand  Lake,  if  he,  the  said  Kawtawabetay,  and  his  people 
would  make  and  declare  war  against  the  settlers  in  Red  River. 
On  being  asked  by  the  chief  whether  this  was  at  the  request 
of  the  "  great  chiefs  "  at  Montreal  or  Quebec,  McKenzie  and 
Morrison  said  it  was  solely  from  the  North-West  Company's 
agents,  who  wished  the  settlement  destroyed,  as  it  was  an 
annoyance  to  them.  The  chief  further  stated  that  the  last 
spring  (1816),  whilst  at  Fond  Du  Lac  Superior,  a  Nor'-Wester 
agent  (Grant)  offered  him  two  kegs  of  rum  and  two  carrots  of 
tobacco  if  he  would  send  some  of  his  young  men  in  search  of 
R 


242  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

certain  persons  employed  in  taking  despatches  to  the  Red 
River,  pillage  these  bearers  of  despatches  of  the  letters  and 
papers,  and  kill  them  should  they  make  any  resistance. 
The  chief  stated  he  had  refused  to  have  anything  to  do  with 
these  offers.  On  being  asked  in  the  council  by  Lord  Selkirk, 
who  was  present,  as  to  the  feelings  of  the  Indians  towards  the 
settlers  at  Red  River,  he  said  that  at  the  commencement  of 
the  Red  River  settlement  some  of  the  Indians  did  not  like  it, 
but  at  present  they  are  all  glad  of  its  being  settled. 

Lord  Selkirk  soon  hastened  on  and  overtook  his  expedition 
at  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  now  consisting  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
men  all  told,  and  these  being  maintained  at  his  private  expense. 
They  immediately  proceeded  westward,  intending  to  go  to  the 
extreme  point  of  Lake  Superior,  near  where  the  town  of 
Duluth  now  stands,  and  where  the  name  Fond  du  Lac  is  still 
retained.  The  expedition  would  then  have  gone  north-west- 
ward through  what  is  now  Minnesota  to  Red  Lake,  from  which 
point  a  descent  could  have  been  made  by  boat,  through  Red 
Lake  River  and  Red  River  to  the  very  settlement  itself.  This 
route  would  have  avoided  the  Nor '-Westers  altogether. 

Westward  bound,  the  party  had  little  more  than  left  Sault 
Ste.  Marie,  during  the  last  week  of  July,  when  they  were  met 
on  Lake  Superior  by  two  canoes,  in  one  of  which  was  Miles 
Macdonell,  former  Governor  of  Red  River,  who  brought  the 
sad  intelligence  of  the  second  destruction  of  the  colony  and 
of  the  murder  of  Governor  Semple  and  his  attendants.  His 
Lordship  was  thrown  into  the  deepest  despair.  The  thought 
of  his  Governor  killed,  wholesale  murder  committed,  the  poor 
settlers  led  by  him  from  the  Highland  homes,  where  life  at 
least  was  safe,  to  endure  such  fear  and  privation,  was  indeed 
a  sore  trial.  To  any  one  less  moved  by  the  spirit  of  philan- 
thropy, it  must  have  been  a  serious  disappointment,  but  to 
one  feeling  so  thorough  a  sympathy  for  the  suffering  and  who 
was  himself  the  very  soul  of  honour,  it  was  a  crushing  blow. 

He  resolved  to  change  his  course  and  to  go  to  Fort  William, 
the  headquarters  of  the  Nor' -Westers.  He  now  determined 
to  act  in  his  office  as  magistrate,  and  sought  to  induce  two 
gentlemen  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  Messrs.  Ermatinger  and  Askin, 
both  magistrates,  to  accompany  him  in  that  capacity.  They 


LORD    SELKIRK    TO    THE   RESCUE          243 

were  unable  to  go.  Compelled  to  proceed  alone,  he  writes 
from  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  on  July  29th,  to  Sir  John  Sherbrooke, 
and  after  speaking  of  his  failure  to  induce  the  two  gentlemen 
mentioned  by  him  to  go,  says,  ' '  I  am  therefore  reduced  to  the 
alternative  of  acting  alone,  or  of  allowing  an  audacious  crime 
to  pass  unpunished.  In  these  circumstances  I  cannot  doubt 
that  it  is  my  duty  to  act,  though  I  am  not  without  apprehension 
that  the  law  may  be  openly  resisted  by  a  set  of  people  who 
have  been  accustomed  to  consider  force  as  the  only  true 
criterion  of  right." 

One  would  have  said,  on  looking  at  the  matter  dispassion- 
ately, that  the  Governor-General,  with  a  military  force  so  far 
west  as  Drummond  Isle  in  Georgian  Bay,  would  have  taken 
immediate  steps  to  bring  to  justice  the  offenders. 

Governor  Sherbrooke  seems  to  have  felt  himself  powerless, 
for  he  says  in  a  despatch  to  Lord  Bathurst,  "  I  beg  leave  to 
call  your  Lordship's  serious  attention  to  the  forcible  and,  I 
fear,  too  just  description  given  by  the  Earl  of  Selkirk  of  the 
state  of  the  Red  River  territory.  I  leave  to  your  Lordship  to 
judge  whether  a  banditti  such  as  he  describes  will  yield  to  the 
influence,  or  be  intimidated  by  the  menaces  of  distant  author- 
ity." It  may  be  well  afterwards  to  contrast  this  statement  of 
the  Governor's  with  subsequent  despatches.  It  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  while  "  the  banditti  "  was  pursuing  its  course  of 
violence  in  the  far-off  territory,  and,  as  has  been  stated, 
thoroughly  under  the  direction  and  encouragement  of  the 
North- West  Company  partners,  the  leading  members  of  this 
Company,  who  held,  many  of  them,  high  places  in  society  and 
in  the  Government  in  Montreal,  were  posing  as  the  lovers  of 
peace  and  order,  and  were  lamenting  over  the  excesses  of  the 
Indians  and  Bois  Brules.  By  this  course  they  were  enabled  to 
thwart  any  really  effective  measures  towards  restoring  peace 
at  the  far-away  "  seat  of  war." 

The  action  of  the  North-West  Company  may  be  judged 
from  the  following  extracts  from  a  letter  of  the  Hon.  John 
Richardson,  one  of  the  partners,  and  likewise  a  member  of  the 
executive  council  of  Lower  Canada,  addressed  to  Governor 
Sherbrooke.  He  says  on  August  17th,  1816  :  "  It  is  with 
much  concern  that  I  have  to  mention  that  blood  has  been 


244  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

shed  at  the  Red  River  to  an  extent  greatly  to  be  deplored  ;  but 
it  is  consolatory  to  those  interested  in  the  North-West  Com- 
pany to  find  that  none  of  their  traders  or  people  were  concerned, 
or  at  the  time  within  a  hundred  miles  of  the  scene  of  contest." 
What  a  commentary  on  such  a  statement  are  the  stories  of 
Pambrun  and  Huerter,  given  in  a  previous  chapter  !  What  a 
cold-blooded  statement  after  all  the  plottings  and  schemes  of 
the  whole  winter  before  the  attack  !  What  a  heartless  false- 
hood as  regards  the  Indians,  who,  under  so  great  temptations, 
refused  to  be  partners  in  so  bloody  an  enterprise  ! 

The  resolution  of  Lord  Selkirk  to  go  to  Fort  William  in  the 
capacity  of  a  magistrate  was  one  involving,  as  he  well  knew, 
many  perils.  He  was  not,  however,  the  man  to  shrink  from 
a  daring  enterprise  having  once  undertaken  it. 

To  Fort  William,  then,  with  the  prospect  of  meeting  several 
hundreds  of  the  desperate  men  of  the  North- West  Company, 
Lord  Selkirk  made  his  way.  So  confident  was  he  in  the 
rectitude  of  his  purpose  and  in  the  Justice  of  his  cause,  that  he 
pushed  forward,  and  without  the  slightest  hesitation  encamped 
upon  the  Kaministiquia,  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  in  sight 
of  Fort  William.  The  expedition  arrived  on  August  12th.  A 
demand  was  at  once  made  on  the  officers  of  the  North- West 
Company  for  the  release  of  a  number  of  persons  who  had  been 
captured  at  Red  River  after  the  destruction  of  the  colony  and 
been  brought  to  Fort  William.  The  Nor'-Westers  denied 
having  arrested  these  persons,  and  to  give  colour  to  this 
assertion  immediately  sent  them  over  to  Lord  Selkirk 's 
encampment. 

On  the  13th  and  following  days  of  the  month  of  August,  the 
depositions  of  a  number  of  persons  were  taken  before  his  Lord- 
ship as  a  Justice  of  the  peace.  The  depositions  related  to  the 
guilt  of  the  several  Nor'-Wester  partners,  their  destroying  the 
settlement,  entering  and  removing  property  from  Fort  Doug- 
las, and  the  like  ;  and  were  made  by  Pambrun,  Lavigne,  Nolin, 
Blondeau,  Brisbois,  and  others.  It  was  made  so  clear  to  Lord 
Selkirk  that  the  partners  were  guilty  of  inciting  the  attacks  on 
the  colony  and  of  approving  the  outrages  committed,  that  he 
determined  to  arrest  a  number  of  the  leaders.  This  was  done 
by  regular  process — by  warrants  served  on  Mr.  McGillivray, 


LORD    SELKIRK    TO    THE   RESCUE          245 

Kenneth  McKenzie,  Simon  Fraser,  and  others,  but  these 
prisoners  were  allowed  to  remain  in  Fort  William. 

In  one  case,  that  of  a  partner  named  John  McDonald, 
resistance  having  been  offered,  the  constables  called  for  the  aid 
of  a  party  of  the  De  Meurons,  who  had  crossed  over  from  the 
encampment  with  them  in  their  boats.  The  leaving  of  the 
prisoners  with  their  liberty  in  Fort  William,  however,  gave  the 
opportunity  for  conspiracy  ;  and  it  was  represented  to  Lord 
Selkirk  that  Fort  William  would  be  used  for  the  purposes  of 
resistance,  and  that  the  prisoners  arrested  would  be  released. 
The  facts  leading  to  this  belief  were  that  a  canoe,  laden  with 
arms,  had  left  the  fort  at  night ;  that  eight  barrels  of  gunpow- 
der had  been  secreted  in  a  thicket,  and  that  these  had  been 
taken  from  the  magazine ;  while  some  forty  stand  of  arms, 
fresh-loaded,  had  been  found  in  a  barn  among  some  hay. 
These  indications  proved  that  an  attempt  was  about  to  be 
made  to  resist  the  execution  of  the  law,  and  accordingly  the 
prisoners  were  placed  in  one  building  and  closely  guarded,  while 
Lord  Selkirk's  encampment  was  removed  across  the  river  and 
pitched  in  front  of  the  fort  to  prevent  any  surprise. 

A  further  examination  of  the  prisoners  took  place,  and  their 
criminality  being  so  evident,  they  were  sent  to  York,  Upper 
Canada.  Three  canoes,  well  manned  and  containing  the 
prisoners,  left  the  fort  on  August  18th,  under  the  charge  of 
Lieutenant  Fauche,  one  of  the  De  Meuron  officers.  The  jour- 
ney down  the  lakes  was  marred  by  a  most  unfortunate  accident. 
One  of  the  canoes  was  upset  some  fifteen  miles  from  Sault  Ste. 
Marie.  This  was  caused  by  the  sudden  rise  in  the  wind.  The 
affair  was  purely  accidental,  and  there  were  drowned  one  of 
the  prisoners,  named  McKenzie,  a  sergeant  and  a  man  of  the 
De  Meurons,  and  six  Indians.  The  prisoners  were  taken  to 
Montreal  and  admitted  to  bail.  The  course  taken  by  Lord 
Selkirk  at  Fort  William  has  been  severely  criticized,  and 
became,  indeed,  the  subject  of  subsequent  legal  proceedings. 
One  of  the  Nor'- Wester  apologists  stated  to  Governor  Sher- 
brooke  "  that  the  mode  of  proceeding  under  Lord  Selkirk's 
orders  resembled  nothing  British,  and  exceeded  even  the 
military  despotism  of  the  French  in  Holland." 

No  doubt  it  would  have  been  better  had  Lord  Selkirk 


246  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

obtained  other  magistrates  to  take  part  in  the  proceeolings  at 
Fort  William,  but  we  have  seen  he  did  try  this  and  failed. 
Had  it  been  possible  to  have  had  the  arrests  effected  without 
the  appearance  of  force  made  by  the  De  Meurons,  it  would 
have  been  more  agreeable  to  our  ideas  of  ordinary  legal 
proceedings  ;  but  it  must  be  remembered  he  was  dealing  with 
those  called  by  a  high  authority  "  a  banditti."  Could  Fort 
William  have  been  left  in  the  hands  of  its  possessors,  it  would 
have  been  better  ;  but  then  there  was  clear  evidence  that  the 
Nor '-Westers  intended  violence.  To  have  left  Fort  William  in 
their  possession  would  have  been  suicidal.  It  would  probably 
have  been  better  that  Lord  Selkirk  should  not  have  stopped 
the  canoes  going  into  the  interior  with  North-West  merchan- 
dise, but  to  have  allowed  them  to  proceed  was  only  to  have 
assisted  his  enemies — the  enemies,  moreover,  of  law  and  order. 
Thousands  of  pounds'  worth  of  his  property  stolen  from  Fort 
Douglas  by  the  agents  of  the  North-West  Company,  and 
the  fullest  evidence  in  the  depositions  made  before  him  that 
this  was  in  pursuance  of  a  plan  devised  by  the  Company 
and  deliberately  carried  out !  Several  hundreds  of  lawless 
voyageurs  and  unscrupulous  partners  ready  to  use  violence 
in  the  wild  region  of  Lake  Superior,  where,  during  fifty  years 
preceding,  they  had  committed  numerous  acts  of  bloodshed, 
and  had  never  been  called  to  account !  The  worrying  reflec- 
tion that  homeless  settlers  and  helpless  women  and  children 
were  crying,  in  some  region  then  unknown  to  him,  for  his 
assistance,  after  their  wanton  dispersion  by  their  enemies 
from  their  homes  on  the  banks  of  Red  River  !  All  these 
things  were  sufficient  to  nerve  to  action  one  of  far  less  generous 
impulses  than  Lord  Selkirk. 

Is  it  at  all  surprising  that  his  Lordship  did  not  act  with  all 
the  calmness  and  scrupulous  care  of  a  judge  on  the  bench, 
who,  under  favourable  circumstances,  feels  himself  strong  in  his 
consciousness  of  safety,  supported  by  the  myriad  officers  of  the 
law,  and  surrounded  by  the  insignia  of  Justice  ?  The  Justifica- 
tion of  his  course,  even  if  it  be  interpreted  adversely,  is,  that  in 
a  state  of  violence,  to  preserve  the  person  is  a  preliminary  to 
the  settlement  of  other  questions  of  personal  right.  One  thing 
at  least  is  to  Lord  Selkirk's  credit,  that,  as  soon  as  possible,  he 


LORD    SELKIRK    TO    THE   RESCUE          247 

handed  over  the  law-breakers  to  be  dealt  with  by  the  Canadian 
Courts,  where,  however,  unfortunately,  another  divinity 
presided  than  the  blind  goddess  of  Justice. 

Let  us  now  see  where  we  are  in  our  story.  Lord  Selkirk  is 
at  Fort  William.  The  Nor' -Wester  partners  have  been  sent  to 
the  East.  It  is  near  the  end  of  August,  and  the  state  of  affairs 
at  Fort  William  does  not  allow  the  founder  to  pass  on  to  his 
colony  for  the  winter.  He  is  surrounded  by  his  De  Meuron 
settlers.  During  the  months  of  autumn  the  expedition  is 
engaged  in  laying  in  supplies  for  the  approaching  winter,  and 
opening  up  roads  toward  the  Red  River  country.  The  season 
was  spent  in  the  usual  manner  of  the  Lake  Superior  country, 
shut  out  from  the  rest  of  the  world.  The  winter  over,  Lord 
Selkirk  started  on  May  1st,  1817,  for  Red  River,  accompanied 
by  his  body-guard.  The  De  Meurons  had  preceded  him  in  the 
month  of  March,  and,  reaching  the  interior,  restored  order. 

The  colonizer  arrived  at  his  colony  in  the  last  week  of  June, 
and  saw,  for  the  first  time,  the  land  of  his  dreams  for  the  pre- 
ceding fifteen  years.  In  order  to  restore  peace,  he  endeavoured 
to  carry  out  the  terms  of  the  proclamation  issued  by  the 
Government  of  Canada,  that  all  property  taken  during  the 
troubles  should  be  restored  to  its  original  owners.  This 
restitution  was  made  to  a  certain  extent,  though  much  that 
had  been  taken  from  Fort  Douglas  was  never  recovered.  The 
settlers  were  brought  back  from  their  refuge  at  Norway  House, 
and  the  settlement  was  again  organized.  The  colonists 
long  after  related,  with  great  satisfaction,  how  Lord  Selkirk 
cheered  them  by  his  presence.  After  their  return  to  their 
despoiled  homesteads  a  gathering  of  the  settlers  took  place, 
and  a  full  consideration  of  all  their  affairs  was  had  in  their 
patron's  presence. 

This  gathering  was  at  the  spot  where  the  church  and 
burying-ground  of  St.  John's  are  now  found.  "  Here,"  said 
his  Lordship,  pointing  to  lot  number  four,  on  which  they  stood, 
"  here  you  shall  build  your  church  ;  and  that  lot,"  said  he, 
pointing  to  lot  number  three  across  the  little  stream  called 
Parsonage  Creek,  "is  for  the  school."  The  people  then  re- 
minded his  Lordship  that  he  had  promised  them  a  minister, 
who  should  follow  them  to  their  adopted  country.  This  he  at 


248  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

once  acknowledged,  saying,  ' '  Selkirk  never  forfeited  his 
word ; "  while  he  promised  to  give  the  matter  attention  as 
soon  as  practicable.  In  addition,  Lord  Selkirk  gave  a  docu- 
ment stating  that,  ' '  in  consideration  of  the  hardships  which 
the  settlers  had  suffered,  in  consequence  of  the  lawless  conduct 
of  the  North-West  Company,  his  intention  was  to  grant 
gratuitously  the  twenty-four  lots  which  had  been  occupied  to 
those  of  the  settlers  who  had  made  improvements  on  their 
lands  before  they  were  driven  away  from  them  in  the  previous 
year/' 

Before  the  dispersion  of  this  public  gathering  of  the  people, 
the  founder  gave  the  name,  at  the  request  of  the  colonists,  to 
their  settlement.  The  name  given  by  him  to  this  first  parish 
in  Rupert's  Land  was  that  of  Kildonan,  from  their  old  home  in 
the  valley  of  Helmsdale,  in  Sutherlandshire,  Scotland.  In 
more  fully  organizing  the  colony,  his  Lordship  ordered  a 
complete  survey  to  be  made  of  the  land,  and  steps  to  be 
taken  towards  laying  out  roads,  building  bridges,  erecting 
mills,  &c. 

It  -will  be  remembered,  as  already  stated,  that  at  the  incep- 
tion of  the  colony  scheme,  in  1811,  the  Nor'- Westers  had 
threatened  the  hostility  of  the  Indians.  It  may  be  mentioned 
as  a  strange  fact  that,  to  this  day,  it  is  a  trick  of  the  Bois 
Brules,  taking  their  cue  from  the  Nor'-Westers,  when  making 
any  demand,  to  threaten  the  Government  with  the  wrath 
of  the  Indians,  over  whom  they  profess  to  exercise  a  con- 
trol. We  have  already  seen  that  the  Nor'-Westers'  boast 
as  to  their  influence  over  the  Indians  was  empty.  In  the 
publications  of  the  Nor'-Westers  of  1816-20  a  speech  is  some- 
times set  forth  of  an  Indian  chief,  "  Grandes  Oreilles,"  breath- 
ing forth  threatenings  against  the  infant  settlement.  It  is 
worthy  of  notice  that  even  this  resource  is  swept  away  by  the 
author  of  the  speech,  a  Nor'-Wester  trader,  confessing  that  he 
had  manufactured  the  speech  and  "  Grandes  Oreilles  "  had 
never  spoken  it. 

Within  three  weeks  of  his  arrival  at  Red  River  Lord  Selkirk 
carried  out  his  promise  of  making  a  treaty  with  the  Indians. 
All  the  Indians  were  most  willing  to  do  this,  as  on  many 
occasions  during  the  troubles  they  had,  by  giving  early 


LORD   SELKIRK    TO    THE   RESCUE          249 

information  as  to  the  movements  of  the  Nor'-Westers,  and  by 
other  means,  shown  their  sympathy  and  feeling  toward  the 
settlers.  The  object  of  the  treaty  was  simply  to  do  what  has 
since  been  done  all  over  the  north-west  territories — to  extin- 
guish the  Indian  title.  The  treaty  is  signed  alike  by  Ojibe- 
way,  Cree,  and  Assiniboine  chiefs,  the  last  mentioned  being 
a  tribe  generally  considered  to  belong  to  the  Sioux  stock. 
Lord  Selkirk  afterwards  made  a  treaty,  on  leaving  the  Red 
River,  with  the  other  Sioux  nations  inhabiting  his  territory. 
The  chiefs  were  met  at  Red  River  by  his  Lordship,  and  those 
whose  names  are  attached  to  the  treaty  are,  giving  their  French 
names  in  some  cases  as  shorter  than  the  Indian,  Le  Sonent, 
Robe  Noire,  Peguis,  L'Homme  Noir,  and  Grandes  Oreilles. 
His  Lordship  seems  to  have  had  a  most  conciliatory  and 
attractive  manner.  It  is  worth  while  closing  this  chapter  by 
giving  extracts  from  the  speeches  of  these  Indian  chiefs,  taken 
down  at  the  grand  council  at  which  Lord  Selkirk  smoked  the 
pipe  of  peace  with  the  assembled  warriors. 

Peguis,  the  Saulteaux  chief,  always  the  fast  friend  of  the 
colonists,  said,  "  When  the  English  settlers  first  came  here  we 
received  them  with  joy.  It  was  not  our  fault  if  even  the 
stumps  of  the  brushwood  were  too  rough  for  their  feet ;  but 
misfortunes  have  since  overtaken  them.  Evil-disposed  men 
came  here,  calling  themselves  great  chiefs,  sent  from  our  Great 
Father  across  the  big  lake,  but  we  believe  they  were  only 
traders,  pretending  to  be  great  chiefs  on  purpose  to  deceive  us. 
They  misled  the  young  men  who  are  near  us  (a  small  party  of 
Bois  Brules  encamped  in  the  neighbourhood),  and  employed 
them  to  shed  the  blood  of  your  children  and  to  drive  away  the 
settlers  from  this  river.  We  do  not  acknowledge  these  men  as 
an  independent  tribe.  They  have  sprung  up  here  and  there 
like  mushrooms  and  we  know  them  not. 

"  At  the  first  arrival  of  the  settlers  we  were  frequently 
solicited  by  the  North- West  Company  to  frighten  them  away  ; 
but  we  were  pleased  to  see  that  our  Great  Father  had  sent 
some  of  his  white  children  to  live  among  us,  and  we  refused  to 
do  or  say  anything  against  them.  The  traders  even  demanded 
our  calumets,  and  desired  to  commit  our  sentiments  to  paper, 
that  they  might  send  to  our  Great  Father  ;  but  we  refused  to 


250  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

acknowledge  the  speeches  which  they  wished  to  put  into  our 
mouths.  We  are  informed  that  they  have  told  a  tale  that  it 
was  the  Indians  who  drove  away  and  murdered  the  children 
of  our  Great  Father,  but  it  is  a  falsehood. 

"  As  soon  as  I  saw  the  mischief  that  happened  I  went  to 
Lake  Winnipeg  with  a  few  friends  to  wait  for  news  from  the 
English,  but  I  could  meet  none.  We  have  reasons  to  be 
friends  of  the  colony.  When  there  were  only  traders  here 
we  could  not  get  a  blanket,  or  a  piece  of  cloth,  without  furs  to 
give  in  exchange.  Our  country  is  now  almost  destitute  of  furs, 
so  that  we  were  often  in  want ;  from  the  people  of  the  colony 
we  get  blankets  and  cloth  for  the  meat  we  procure  them.  The 
country  abounds  with  meat,  which  we  can  obtain,  but  to  obtain 
furs  is  difficult." 

Next,  I/Homme  Noir,  a  chief  of  the  Asiniboines,  who  had 
come  from  a  long  distance,  addressing  Lord  Selkirk,  par- 
ticularly declares,  "  we  were  often  harassed  with  solicitations 
to  assist  the  Bois  Brules  in  what  they  have  done  against 
your  children,  but  we  always  refused.  We  are  sure  you  must 
have  had  much  trouble  to  come  here.  We  have  often  been 
told  you  were  our  enemy  ;  but  we  have  to-day  the  happiness 
to  hear  from  your  own  mouth  the  words  of  a  true  friend.  We 
receive  the  present  you  give  us  with  great  pleasure  and 
thankfulness." 

After  this,  Robe  Noire,  an  Ojibeway  chief,  spoke  in  like 
terms ;  when  the  veritable  Grandes  Oreilles,  to  whose 
spurious  war  speech  we  have  already  referred,  said  as 
follows  : — 

"  I  am  happy  to  see  here  our  own  father.  Clouds  have 
overwhelmed  me.  I  was  a  long  time  in  doubt  and  difficulty, 
but  now  I  begin  to  see  clearly. 

"  We  have  reason  to  be  happy  this  day.  We  know  the 
dangers  you  must  have  encountered  to  come  so  far.  The  truth 
you  have  spoken  pleases  us.  We  thank  you  for  the  present 
you  give  us.  There  seems  an  end  to  our  distress,  and  it  is  you 
who  have  relieved  us. 

"  When  our  young  men  are  drunk  they  are  mad  ;  they  know 
not  what  they  say  or  what  they  do  ;  but  this  must  not  be 
attended  to  ;  they  mean  no  harm." 


LORD   SELKIRK    TO    THE   RESCUE          251 

Long  after,  Selkirk  was  remembered  and  beloved  by  these 
Indian  tribes,  who  spoke  of  him  as  the  "  Silver  Chief." 

So  much  for  the  founder's  work  in  his  colony  in  1817.  His 
affairs  urgently  required  attention  elsewhere.  In  the  language 
of  a  writer  of  the  period,  * '  having  thus  restored  order,  infused 
confidence  in  the  people,  and  given  a  certain  aid  to  their 
activity,  Lord  Selkirk  took  his  final  leave  of  the  colony." 
With  a  guide  and  a  few  attendants  he  journeyed  southward, 
passing  through  the  country  of  the  warlike  Sioux,  with  whom 
he  made  peace. 

The  writer  had  at  one  time  in  his  possession  a  note- book 
with,  in  Lord  Selkirk's  writing,  an  itinerary  of  his  journey  from 
Red  River  Colony,  in  which  familiar  names,  such  as  Riviere 
Sale,  Riviere  Aux  Gratias,  Pembina,  and  the  like,  appear  with 
their  distances  in  leagues.  Among  other  memoranda  is  one, 
"  lost  on  the  Prairie,"  and  the  distance  in  leagues  estimated  as 
lost  by  the  misadventure.  Every  traveller  over  the  Manitoba 
prairie  will  take  a  feeling  interest  in  that  entry. 

Passing  through  the  Mississippi  country,  he  seems  to  have 
proceeded  eastward  to  Washington ;  he  next  appears  in 
Albany,  and  hastens  back  to  Upper  Canada,  without  even 
visiting  his  family  in  Montreal,  though  he  had  been  absent 
from  them  for  upwards  of  a  year.  In  Upper  Canada  his 
presence  was  urgently  needed  to  meet  the  artful  machinations 
of  his  enemies. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

THE   BLUE-BOOK   OF    1819   AND   THE   NORTH-WEST   TRIALS. 

British  law  disgraced — Governor  Sherbrooke's  distress — A  Commission 
decided  on — Few  unbiassed  Canadians — Colonel  Coltman  chosen 
— Over  ice  and  snow — Alarming  rumours — The  Prince  Regent's 
order — Coltman  at  Red  River — The  Earl  submissive — The  Com- 
missioner's report  admirable — The  celebrated  Reinhart  case — 
Disturbing  lawsuits — Justice  perverted — A  storehouse  of  facts — 
Sympathy  of  Sir  Walter  Scott — Lord  Selkirk's  death — Tomb  at 
Orthes,  in  France. 

THE  state  of  things  in  Rupert's  Land  in  1816  was  a  disgrace 
to  British  institutions.  That  subjects  of  the  realm,  divided 
into  two  parties,  should  be  virtually  carrying  on  war  against 
each  other  on  British  soil,  was  simply  intolerable.  Not  only 
was  force  being  used,  but  warrants  were  being  issued  and  the 
forms  of  law  employed,  on  both  sides  to  carry  out  the  selfish 
ends  of  each  party.  An  impartial  historian  cannot  but  say 
that  both  parties  were  chargeable  with  grievous  wrong. 

Sir  John  Coape  Sherbrooke,  Governor-General  of  Canada, 
felt  very  keenly  the  shameful  situation,  and  yet  the  difficulties 
of  transport  and  the  remote  distance  of  the  interior  where  the 
conflict  was  taking  place  made  interference  almost  impossible. 
He  was  in  constant  communication  with  Lord  Bathurst,  the 
Imperial  Colonial  Secretary. 

Governor  Sherbrooke's  difficulties  were,  however,  more  than 
those  of  distance.  The  influence  of  the  North-West  Company 
in  Canada  was  supreme,  and  public  sentiment  simply  reflected 
the  views  of  the  traders.  The  plan  of  sending  a  commission 
to  the  interior  to  stop  hostilities  and  examine  the  conflicting 
statements  which  were  constantly  coming  to  the  Governor, 
seemed  the  most  feasible  ;  but  with  his  sense  of  British  fair- 
play,  Governor  Sherbrooke  knew  he  could  find  no  one  suitable 
to  recommend. 

252 


BLUE-BOOK  OF  1819  &  NORTH-WEST  TRIALS    253 

At  last,  driven  to  take  some  action,  Sir  John  named  Mr. 
W.  B.  Coltman,  a  merchant  of  Quebec  and  a  lieutenant-colonel 
in  the  Militia,  a  man  accustomed  to  Government  matters,  and 
one  who  bore  a  good  reputation  for  fairness  and  justice.  With 
this  Commissioner,  who  did  not  enter  on  his  task  with  much 
alacrity,  was  associated  Major  Fletcher,  a  man  of  good  legal 
qualifications. 

The  Commissioners  were  instructed  to  proceed  immediately 
to  the  North-West.  They  were  invested  with  the  power  of 
magistrates,  and  were  authorized  to  make  a  thorough  investi- 
gation into  the  troubles  which  were  disturbing  the  country. 
"  You  are  particularly,"  say  the  instructions,  "  to  apply  your- 
selves to  mediate  between  the  contending  parties  in  the  afore- 
said territories  ;  to  remove,  as  far  as  possible,  all  causes  of 
dissension  between  them  ;  to  take  all  legal  measures  to 
prevent  the  recurrence  of  those  violences  which  have  already 
so  unhappily  disturbed  the  public  peace  ;  and  generally  to 
enforce  and  establish,  within  the  territory  where  you  shall  be, 
the  influence  and  authority  of  the  laws." 

Various  accidents  prevented  the  Commissioners  from  leaving 
for  the  Indian  country  as  soon  as  had  been  expected.  They 
did  not  reach  York  (Toronto)  till  November  23rd,  and  on  their 
arriving  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Huron  they  found  the  lake 
frozen  over  and  impassable.  They  could  do  nothing  them- 
selves other  than  return  to  York,  but  they  succeeded  in  fitting 
out  an  expedition  under  North-Western  auspices  to  find  its 
way  over  the  ice  and  snow  to  Fort  William,  carrying  the 
revocation  of  all  the  commissions  of  magistrates  west  of  Sault 
Ste.  Marie  and  the  news  of  the  new  appointments  in  their 
stead.  Reports  during  the  winter  continued  to  be  of  a  dis- 
quieting kind,  and  as  the  spring  drew  nigh,  preparations  were 
made  for  sending  up  the  Commissioners  with  a  small  armed 
force. 

The  gravity  of  the  situation  may  be  judged  from  the  steps 
taken  by  the  Imperial  Government  and  the  instructions  sent 
out  by  the  authority  of  George,  the  Prince  Regent,  to  Governor 
Sherbrooke  to  issue  a  proclamation  in  his  name  calling  on  all 
parties  to  desist  from  hostilities,  and  requiring  all  military 
officers  or  men  employed  by  any  of  the  parties  to  immediately 


254  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

retire  from  such  service.  All  property,  including  forts  or 
trading  stations,  was  to  be  immediately  restored  to  the  rightful 
owners,  and  any  impediment  or  blockade  preventing  transport 
to  be  at  once  removed. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  proclamation  and  instructions 
given  had  the  desired  effect.  Coltman  and  his  fellow  Com- 
missioner left  in  May  for  the  field  of  their  operations,  accom- 
panied by  forty  men  of  the  37th  Regiment  as  a  bodyguard. 
On  arriving  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  Commissioner  Coltman,  after 
waiting  two  or  three  weeks,  hastened  on  to  Fort  William, 
leaving  Fletcher  and  the  troops  to  follow  him.  On  July  2nd 
he  wrote  from  the  mouth  of  the  River  Winnipeg,  stating  that 
his  presence  had  no  doubt  tended  to  preserve  peace  in  the 
North-West,  and  that  in  two  days  he  would  see  Lord  Selkirk 
in  his  own  Fort  Douglas  at  Red  River. 

Three  days  after  the  despatch  of  this  letter,  Commissioner 
Coltman  arrived  at  Red  River.  He  immediately  grappled  with 
the  difficulties  and  met  them  with  much  success.  The  news 
of  Lord  Selkirk's  actions  had  all  arrived  at  Montreal  through 
the  North-West  sources,  so  that  both  in  Quebec  and  London  a 
strong  prejudice  had  sprung  up  against  his  Lordship.  Colonel 
Coltman  found,  however,  that  Lord  Selkirk  had  been  much 
misrepresented.  The  illegal  seizures  he  had  made  at  Fort 
William  were  dictated  only  by  prudence  in  dealing  with  what 
he  considered  a  daring  and  treacherous  enemy.  He  had 
submitted  to  the  ordinance  recalling  magistrates'  commissions 
immediately  on  receiving  it.  Colonel  Coltman  was  so  im- 
pressed with  Lord  Selkirk's  reasonableness  and  good  faith  that 
he  recommended  that  the  legal  charges  made  against  him 
should  not  be  proceeded  with. 

Colonel  Coltman  then  started  on  his  return  journey,  and 
wrote  that  he  had  stopped  at  the  mouth  of  the  Winnipeg  River 
for  the  purpose  of  investigating  the  conspiracy,  in  which  he 
states  he  fears  the  North-West  Company  had  been  impli- 
cated, to  destroy  the  Selkirk  settlement.  The  energetic 
Commissioner  returned  to  Quebec  in  November  of  that  year. 
Governor  Sherbrooke  had  the  satisfaction  of  reporting  to  Lord 
Bathurst  the  return  of  Mr.  Coltman  from  his  mission  to  the 
Indian  territories,  and  *  *  that  the  general  result  of  his  exertions 


BLUE-BOOK  OF  1819  &  NORTH-WEST  TRIALS    255 

had  been  so  far  successful,  that  he  had  restored  a  degree  of 
tranquillity  there  which  promises  to  continue  during  the 
winter." 

Colonel  Coltman's  report,  of  about  one  hundred  folio  pages, 
is  an  admirable  one.  His  summary  of  the  causes  and  events 
of  the  great  struggle  between  the  Companies  is  well  arranged 
and  clearly  stated.  The  writer,  in  an  earlier  work,  strongly 
took  up  Lord  Selkirk's  view  of  the  case,  and  criticised  Colt- 
man.  Subsequent  investigations  and  calmer  reflection  have 
led  him  to  the  conclusion  that  while  Lord  Selkirk  was  in  the 
right  and  exhibited  a  high  and  noble  character,  yet  the  pro- 
voking circumstances  came  from  both  directions,  and  Colonel 
Coltman's  account  seems  fairly  impartial. 

The  cessation  of  hostilities  brought  about  by  the  influence  of 
Colonel  Coltman  did  not,  however,  bring  a  state  of  peace.  The 
conflict  was  transferred  to  the  Courts  of  Lower  and  Upper 
Canada,  these  having  been  given  power  some  time  before  by 
the  Imperial  Parliament  to  deal  with  cases  in  the  Indian 
territories. 

A  cause  cilbbre  was  that  of  the  trial  of  Charles  Reinhart,  an 
employe  of  the  North -West  Company,  who  had  been  a  sergeant 
in  the  disbanded  De  Meuron  Regiment.  Having  gone  to  the 
North -West,  he  was  during  the  troubles  given  charge  of  a 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  official  named  Owen  Keveny,  against 
whom  it  was  urged  that  he  had  maltreated  a  servant  of  the 
North-West  Company.  In  bringing  Keveny  down  from  Lake 
Winnipeg  to  Rat  Portage,  it  was  brought  against  Reinhart 
that  at  a  place  called  the  Falls  of  the  River  Winnipeg,  he 
had  brutally  killed  the  prisoner  under  his  charge.  While  Lord 
Selkirk  was  at  Fort  William,  Reinhart  arrived  at  that  point 
and  made  a  voluntary  confession  before  his  Lordship  as  a 
magistrate.  This  case  was  afterwards  tried  at  Quebec  and 
gave  rise  to  an  argument  as  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Court,  viz. 
whether  the  point  where  the  murder  occurred  on  the  River 
Winnipeg  was  in  Upper  Canada,  Lower  Canada,  or  the  Indian 
territories.  Though  Reinhart  was  found  guilty,  sentence 
was  not  carried  out,  probably  on  account  of  the  uncertainty  of 
jurisdiction.  The  Reinhart  case  became  an  important  pre- 
cedent in  settling  the  boundary  line  of  Upper  Canada,  and  also 


256  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

in  dealing  with  the  troubles  arising  out  of  the  Kiel  rebellion  of 
1869. 

In  the  year  after  Colonel  Coltman's  return,  numerous  cases 
were  referred  to  the  Courts,  all  these  arising  out  of  the  violence 
at  Red  River.  Colonel  Coltman  had  bound  Lord  Selkirk, 
though  only  accused  of  an  offence  amounting  to  a  misdemean- 
our, in  the  large  sum  of  6,OOOZ.  and  under  two  sureties  of  3,000?. 
each — in  all  12,OOOZ.  Mr.  Gale,  Lord  Selkirk's  legal  adviser, 
called  attention  to  the  illegality  of  this  proceeding,  but  all  to 
no  effect. 

After  Lord  Selkirk  had  settled  up  his  affairs  with  his  colon- 
ists, he  journeyed  south  from  the  Red  River  to  St.  Louis  in  the 
Western  States,  and  then  went  eastward  to  Albany  in  New 
York,  whence  he  appeared  in  Sandwich  in  Upper  Canada,  the 
circuit  town  where  information  had  been  laid.  Here  he  found 
four  accusations  made  against  him  by  the  North-West  Com- 
pany. These  were  :  (1)  Having  stolen  eighty -three  muskets 
at  Fort  William  ;  (2)  Having  riotously  entered  Fort  William, 
August  13th  ;  (3)  Assault  and  false  imprisonment  of  Deputy- 
Sheriff  Smith  ;  (4)  Resistance  to  legal  warrant. 

On  these  matters  being  taken  up,  the  first  charge  was  so 
contradictory  that  the  magistrates  dismissed  it ;  but  the  other 
three  could  not  be  dealt  with  on  account  of  the  absence  of 
witnesses,  and  so  bail  was  accepted  from  Lord  Selkirk  of  350/. 
for  his  appearance.  When  Lord  Selkirk  presented  himself  at 
Montreal  to  answer  to  the  charges  for  which  Colonel  Coltman's 
heavy  bail  had  bound  him,  the  Court  admitted  it  had  no 
jurisdiction,  but  with  singular  high-handedness  bound  Lord 
Selkirk  to  appear  in  Upper  Canada  under  the  same  bail. 

In  Montreal  in  May,  1818,  an  action  was  brought  before  Chief 
Justice  Monk  and  Justice  Bowen  against  Colin  Robertson  and 
four  others,  charging  them  with  riotously  destroying  Fort 
Gibraltar,  the  Nor '-Wester  fort.  A  number  of  witnesses  were 
called,  including  Miles  Macdonell,  John  Pritchard,  Auguste 
Cadot,  and  others.  A  verdict  of  not  guilty  was  rendered. 

In  September  of  the  same  year  a  charge  was  laid  against  Lord 
Selkirk  and  others  of  a  conspiracy  to  ruin  the  trade  of  the 
North-West  Company.  This  was  before  the  celebrated  Chief 
Justice  Powell.  The  grand  jury  refused  to  give  the  Chief 


BLUE-BOOK  OF  1819  6-  NORTH-WEST  TRIALS    257 

Justice  an  answer  in  the  case.  The  Court  was  summarily 
adjourned,  and  legislation  was  introduced  at  the  next  meet- 
ing of  the  Legislature  of  Upper  Canada  to  remedy  defects  in 
the  Act  in  order  that  the  case  might  be  tried.  Afterward  the 
cases  were  taken  up  in  York,  and  Deputy -Sheriff  Smith  was 
given  a  verdict  against  Lord  Selkirk  for  500/.,  and  McKenzie, 
a  North- West  partner,  a  verdict  of  1,5001.  for  false  imprison- 
ment at  Fort  William.  The  general  impression  has  always 
prevailed  there  that  the  whole  procedure  in  these  cases  against 
Lord  Selkirk  was  high-handed  and  unjust,  though  it  is  quite 
possible  that  Lord  Selkirk  had  exceeded  his  powers  in  the 
troubled  state  of  affairs  at  Fort  William. 

On  his  Lordship's  side  charges  were  also  brought  in  October, 
1818.  In  the  full  Court  Chief  Justice  Powell  and  Justices 
Campbell  and  Boulter  presided.  The  most  notable  of  these 
cases  was  against  Cuthbert  Grant,  Boucher,  and  sixteen  others 
as  either  principals  or  accessories  in  the  murder  of  Robert 
Semple  on  June  19th,  1816.  A  few  days  later,  in  the  same 
month,  a  slightly  different  charge  was  brought  against  six  of 
the  North-West  partners  in  connection  with  the  murder  of 
Governor  Semple.  Upwards  of  three  hundred  pages  of  evi- 
dence gave  a  minute  and  complete  account  of  the  affair  of 
Seven  Oaks  and  of  the  whole  conflict  as  found  in  a  volume  of 
Canadian  trials.  In  these  two  cases  a  verdict  of  not  guilty 
was  also  rendered. 

Two  other  trials,  one  by  Lord  Selkirk's  party  against  Paul 
Brown  for  robbery  of  a  blanket  and  a  gun,  and  the  other  against 
John  Cooper  and  Hugh  Bannerman  for  stealing  a  cannon  in 
a  dwelling-house  of  Lord  Selkirk,  were  also  carried  through, 
with  in  both  cases  a  verdict  of  not  guilty.  The  evidence  in 
these  cases  was  printed  by  both  parties,  with  foot-notes, 
giving  a  colour  to  each  side  concerned  of  a  more  favourable 
kind. 

So  much  for  this  most  disheartening  controversy.  It  would 
be  idle  to  say  that  Lord  Selkirk  was  faultless  ;  but  as  we  dis- 
passionately read  the  accounts  of  the  trials,  and  consider  that 
while  Lord  Selkirk  was  friendless  in  Canada,  the  North-West 
Company  had  enormous  influence,  we  cannot  resist  the  conclu- 
sion that  advantage  was  taken  of  his  Lordship,  and  that  justice 


258  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

was  not  done.  It  is  true  that,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  the 
conclusion  was  reached  that  it  was  impossible  to  precisely 
place  the  blame  on  either  side  ;  but  we  cannot  be  surprised  that 
Lord  Selkirk,  harassed  and  discouraged  by  the  difficulties  of 
his  colony  and  his  treatment  in  the  courts  of  Upper  Canada  and 
Lower  Canada,  should  write  as  he  did  in  October,  1818,  to  the 
Duke  of  Richmond,  the  new  Governor -General  of  Canada  : — 

"  To  contend  alone  and  unsupported,  not  only  against  a 
powerful  association  of  individuals,  but  also  against  all  those 
whose  official  duty  it  should  have  been  to  arrest  them  in  the 
prosecution  of  their  crimes,  was  at  the  best  an  arduous  task  ; 
and,  however  confident  one  might  be  of  the  intrinsic  strength  of 
his  cause,  it  was  impossible  to  feel  a  very  sanguine  expectation 
that  this  alone  would  be  sufficient  to  bear  him  up  against  the 
swollen  tide  of  corruption  which  threatened  to  overwhelm  him. 
He  knew  that  in  persevering  under  existing  circumstances  he 
must  necessarily  submit  to  a  heavy  sacrifice  of  personal 
comfort,  incur  an  expense  of  ruinous  amount,  and  possibly 
render  himself  the  object  of  harassing  and  relentless 
persecution/' 

Though  Lord  Selkirk  crossed  the  Atlantic  in  1818,  yet  the 
sounds  of  the  judicial  battle  through  which  he  had  passed  were 
still  in  his  ears.  In  June  his  friend,  Sir  James  Montgomery, 
brought  the  matter  before  the  British  House  of  Commons, 
moving  for  all  the  official  papers  in  the  case.  The  motion  was 
carried,  and  the  Blue  Book  containing  this  matter  is  a  store- 
house where  we  may  find  the  chief  facts  of  this  long  and 
heart-breaking  struggle  recorded. 

In  June,  1818,  we  find  in  a  copy  of  a  letter  in  the  possession 
of  the  writer,  written  by  Sir  Walter  Scott,  a  reference  to  the 
very  poor  health  of  his  Lordship.  Worn  out  and  heart-broken 
by  his  trials,  Lord  Selkirk  did  not  rally,  but  in  the  course  of  a 
few  months  died  at  Pau,  in  the  South  of  France,  April,  1820. 
His  Countess  and  daughters  had  accompanied  him  to  Montreal 
on  his  Canadian  visit,  and  they  were  now  with  him  to  soothe 
his  dying  hours  and  to  see  him  laid  to  rest  in  the  Protestant 
cemetery  of  Orthes. 

Though  he  was  engaged  in  a  difficult  undertaking  in  seeking 
so  early  in  the  century  to  establish  a  colony  on  the  Red  River, 


BLUE-BOOK  OF  1819  &  NORTH-WEST  TRIALS    259 

and  though  it  has  been  common  to  represent  him  as  being  half 
a  century  before  his  time,  yet  we  cannot  resist  the  conclusion 
that  he  was  an  honourable,  patriotic,  and  far-seeing  man,  and 
that  the  burden  of  right  in  this  grand  conflict  was  on 
his  side. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

MEN   WHO  PLAYED   A  PART. 

The  crisis  reached — Consequences  of  Seven  Oaks — The  noble  Earl — 
His  generous  spirit — His  mistakes — Determined  courage — De- 
serves the  laurel  crown — The  first  Governor — Macdonell's  diffi- 
culties— His  unwise  step — A  Captain  in  red — Cameron's  adroitness 
— A  wearisome  imprisonment — Last  governor  of  Fort  Gibraltar — 
The  Metis  chief — Half-breed  son  of  old  Cuthbert — A  daring 
hunter — Warden  of  the  plains — Lord  Selkirk's  agent — A  Red 
River  patriarch — A  faithful  witness — The  French  bard — Western 
war  songs — Pierriche  Falcon. 

THE  skirmish  of  Seven  Oaks  was  the  most  notable  event 
that  ever  occurred  on  the  prairies  of  Rupert's  Land  or  in  the 
limits  of  the  fur  country.  It  was  the  crisis  which  indicated  the 
determination  of  the  Company,  whose  years  were  numbered  by 
a  century  and  a  half,  to  hold  its  own  in  a  great  contest,  and  of 
the  pluck  of  a  British  nobleman  to  show  the  "  perfervidum  in- 
genium  Scotorum,"  and  unflinchingly  to  meet  either  in  arms  or 
legal  conflict  the  fur-trading  oligarchy  of  that  time  in  Canada. 
It  represented,  too,  the  fierce  courage  and  desperate  resource 
of  the  traders  of  the  great  Canadian  Company,  who,  we  have 
seen,  were  called  by  Washington  Irving  "  the  lords  of  the 
lakes  and  forests/' 

It  was  also  the  denouement  which  led  the  Old  and  the 
New  Worlds'  fur  companies,  despite  the  heat  of  passion  and 
their  warmth  of  sentiment,  to  make  a  peace  which  saved  both 
from  impending  destruction. 

It  led,  moreover,  to  the  sealing  up  for  half  a  century  of 
Rupert's  Land  to  all  energetic  projects  and  influx  of  popula- 
tion, and  allowed  Sir  George  Simpson  to  build  up  for  the  time 
being  the  empire  of  the  buffalo,  the  beaver,  and  the  fox,  instead 
of  developing  a  home  of  industry. 

Crises  such  as  this  develop  character  and  draw  out  the 
powers  of  men  who  would  otherwise  waste  their  sweetness  on 

260 


l.oUD    SKI.KIKK. 


sn;    (;K<>I;<;I:   SIMPSON. 


MEN    WHO    PLAYED    A    PART  261 

the  desert  air.  The  shock  of  meeting  of  two  such  great  bodies 
as  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and  the  North-West  Company 
enabled  men  to  show  courage,  loyalty,  honest  indignation, 
decision  of  character,  shrewdness,  diplomatic  skill,  and  great 
endurance.  These  are  the  elements  of  human  character.  It 
is  ever  worth  while  to  examine  the  motives,  features  of  action, 
and  ends  aimed  at  by  men  under  the  trying  circumstances  of 
such  a  conflict.  At  the  risk  of  some  repetition  we  give  sketches 
of  the  lives  of  several  of  the  leading  persons  concerned. 

THE    EARL   OF   SELKIRK. 

Chief,  certainly,  of  the  actors  who  appeared  on  this  stage 
was  Lord  Selkirk.  Born  to  the  best  traditions  of  the  Scottish 
nobility,  Thomas  Douglas  belonged  to  the  Angus-Selkirk  fam- 
ily, which  represented  the  Douglases  of  Border  story,  one  of 
whom  boasted  that  no  ancestor  of  his  had  for  ten  generations 
died  within  chambers.  Lord  Daer,  as  his  title  then  was,  had 
studied  at  Edinburgh  University,  was  an  intimate  friend  of 
Sir  Walter  Scott,  and  though  a  Lowlander,  had  formed 
a  great  attachment  for  the  Highlanders  and  had  learned 
their  language.  He  was,  moreover,  of  most  active  mind, 
broad  sympathies,  and  generous  impulses.  At  the  age  of 
thirty  years,  having  become  Earl  of  Selkirk,  he  sought  to  take 
part  in  assisting  the  social  condition  of  Britain,  which  was 
suffering  greatly  from  the  Napoleonic  wars.  He  took  a  large 
colony  of  Highlanders  to  Prince  Edward  Island,  acquired  land 
in  Upper  Canada  and  also  in  New  York  State,  and  then,  solely 
for  the  purpose  of  helping  on  his  emigration  project,  entered 
on  the  gigantic  undertaking  of  gaining  control  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company.  In  all  these  things  he  succeeded.  We  have 
seen  the  conflicts  into  which  he  was  led  and  the  manly  way 
in  which  he  conducted  himself. 

We  do  not  say  he  made  no  mistakes.  We  frankly  admit  that 
he  went  beyond  the  ordinary  powers  of  a  magistrate's  commis- 
sion at  Fort  William.  But  we  believe  his  aim  was  good.  He 
was  convinced  that  the  Nor' -Westers  had  no  legal  right  to  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  lands  over  which  they  traded.  He 
believed  them  to  be  unscrupulous  and  dangerous,  and  his 
course  was  taken  to  meet  the  exigency  of  the  case.  It  must  be 


262  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

remembered  his  responsibility  was  a  great  one.  His  Highland 
and  Irish  colonists  at  Red  River  were  helpless  ;  he  was  their 
only  defence  ;  no  British  law  was  present  at  Red  River  to  help 
them.  They  were  regarded  as  intruders,  as  enemies  of  the  fur 
trade,  and  he  felt  that  loyalty  and  right  compelled  him  to  act 
as  he  did. 

No  doubt  it  seemed  to  the  Canadian  traders — who  considered 
themselves  as  the  successors  of  the  French  who,  more  than 
three-quarters  of  a  century  before,  had  established  forts  at 
what  was  called  the  post  of  the  Western  Sea — a  high-handed 
and  even  foolhardy  thing  to  bring  his  colony  by  way  of  Hudson 
Bay,  and  to  plant  them  down  at  the  forks  on  Red  River,  in 
a  remote  and  probably  unsuccessful  colony.  However,  in  the 
main  the  legal  right  was  with  his  Lordship.  The  popular 
feeling  in  Canada  toward  Lord  Selkirk  was  far  from  being  a 
pure  one,  and  a  fair-minded  person  can  hardly  refrain  from 
saying  it  was  an  interested  and  selfish  one. 

Certainly,  as  we  see  him,  Lord  Selkirk  was  a  high-minded, 
generous,  far-seeing,  adventurous,  courageous,  and  honourable 
man.  We  may  admit  that  his  opinion  of  the  North-West  Com- 
pany opponents  was  a  prejudiced  and  often  unjust  one.  But 
we  linger  on  the  picture  of  his  Lordship  returning  from  Mon- 
treal with  his  Countess,  their  two  young  daughters,  the  one 
afterward  Lady  Isabella  Hope,  and  the  other  Lady  Katherine 
Wigram,  with  the  young  boy  who  grew  up  to  be  the  last  Earl 
of  Selkirk  ;  we  think  of  him  worried  by  the  lawsuits  and 
penalties  of  which  we  have  spoken,  going  home  to  meet  the 
British  Government  somewhat  prejudiced  against  him  as 
having  been  a  personage  in  what  they  considered  a 
dangerous  imeute :  we  follow  him  passing  over  to  France, 
attended  by  his  family,  and  dying  in  a  foreign  land — and  we  are 
compelled  to  say,  how  often  does  the  world  persecute  its  bene- 
factors and  leave  its  greatest  uncrowned.  The  Protestant 
cemetery  at  Orthes  contains  the  bones  of  one  who,  under  other 
circumstances,  might  have  been  crowned  with  laurel. 

GOVERNOR  MILES  MACDONELL. 

Engaged  by  Lord  Selkirk  to  lead  his  first  company  and 
superintend  the  planting  of  his  colony,  Capt.  Miles  Macdonell 


MEN    WHO    PLAYED   A    PART  263 

found  himself  thrust  into  a  position  of  danger  and  responsibility 
as  local  governor  at  Red  River.  He  was  a  man  with  a  con- 
siderable experience.  Of  Highland  origin,  he  had  with  his 
father,  John  Macdonell,  called  "  Scotas,"  from  his  residence  in 
Scotland,  settled  in  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk  River,  on  the 
estates  of  Sir  William  Johnson,  in  New  York  State.  The 
estates  of  Sir  William  were  a  hotbed  of  loyalism,  and  here  was 
enlisted  by  his  son,  Sir  John  Johnson,  under  the  authority  of 
the  British  Government,  at  the  time  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion, the  well-known  King's  Royal  Regiment  of  New  York, 
familiarly  known  as  the  "  Royal  Greens."  The  older  Mac- 
donell was  a  captain  in  this  regiment,  and  Miles,  as  a  boy  of 
fifteen,  was  commissioned  as  ensign.  Afterward  the  young 
Macdonell  returned  to  Scotland,  where  he  married,  and  again 
came  to  Canada.  Following  a  military  career,  he  was  engaged 
by  Lord  Selkirk  shortly  before  the  war  of  1812  to  lead  his 
colony  to  the  Red  River.  We  have  seen  how  faithfully,  both  at 
York  Factory  and  the  Red  River,  he  served  his  Lordship.  The 
chief  point  in  dispute  in  connection  with  Governor  Macdonell 
is  whether  the  embargo  against  the  export  of  supplies  from 
Red  River  in  1814  was  legal  or  not.  If  it  was  not,  then  on  him 
rests  much  of  the  responsibility  for  the  troubles  which  ensued. 
The  seizure  of  pemmican,  belonging  to  the  North-West  Com- 
pany, at  the  mouth  of  the  Souris  River,  seems  to  have  been 
high-handed.  Undoubtedly  Miles  Macdonell  believed  it  to  be 
necessary  for  the  support  of  the  settlers  in  the  country.  His 
life  was  one  of  constant  worry  after  this  event.  Reprisals 
began  between  the  parties.  These  at  length  ended  in  Miles 
Macdonell  being  seized  by  the  North -West  Company  agents 
on  June  22nd,  1815,  and  taken  as  a  prisoner  to  Fort  William, 
and  thence  to  Montreal.  Macdonell  lived  upon  the  Ottawa  till 
the  time  of  his  death  in  1828. 

He  was  a  man  of  good  mind  and  seemingly  honest  inten- 
tions. His  military  education  and  experience  probably  gave 
him  the  habits  of  regularity  and  decision  which  led  to  the 
statement  made  of  him  by  the  Hon.  William  McGillivray, 
"  that  he  conducted  himself  like  a  Turkish  bashaw/'  The 
justification  of  Governor  Macdonell  seems  to  be  that  the  Nor'- 
Westers  had  determined  early  in  the  history  of  the  colony 


264  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY    COMPANY 

to  destroy  ife,  so  that  the  charges  made  against  the  Governor 
were  merely  an  advantage  taken  of  disputed  points.  Capt. 
Macdonell's  management  at  York  Factory  was  certainly 
judicious,  and  there  seems  but  the  one  debatable  point  in  his 
administration  of  Red  River,  and  that  was  the  proclamation  of 
January  8th,  1814. 

DUNCAN    CAMERON. 

One  of  the  most  notable  leaders  on  the  Nor'-Wester  side 
was  Duncan  Cameron,  who  has  the  distinction  of  being  the 
last  commanding  officer  of  Fort  Gibraltar.  Like  Miles 
Macdonell,  Duncan  Cameron  was  the  son  of  a  Highland  U.  E. 
Loyalist,  who  had  been  settled  on  the  Hudson  in  New  York 
State.  He  entered  the  North- West  Company  in  1785  and 
fourteen  years  after  was  in  charge  of  Nepigon  district,  as  we 
have  seen.  He  gained  much  distinction  for  his  company  by 
his  daring  and  skilful  management  of  the  plan  to  induce  the 
Selkirk  settlers  to  leave  Red  River  and  settle  in  Upper  Canada. 
Coming  from  the  meeting  of  the  Nor '-Westers  in  Grand 
Portage,  in  1814  Cameron  took  up  his  abode  in  Fort  Gibraltar, 
and  according  to  the  story  of  his  opponents  did  so  with  much 
pomp  and  circumstance.  Miles  Macdonell  says : — "  Mr. 
Duncan  Cameron  arrived  at  Red  River,  sporting  a  suit  of 
military  uniform,  gave  himself  out  as  captain  in  his  Majesty's 
service,  and  acting  by  the  King's  authority  for  Sir  George 
Prevost."  Every  well-informed  person  looked  upon  this  as  a 
self-created  appointment,  at  most  a  North-West  trick  ;  but  it 
had  a  very  considerable  effect  upon  the  lower  class  of  people. 

In  regard  to  this  the  writer  in  his  work  on  "  Manitoba," 
London,  1882,  took  up  strong  ground  against  Cameron.  The 
calming  influence  of  years,  and  the  contention  which  has  been 
advanced  that  there  was  some  ground  for  Cameron  claiming  the 
commission  in  the  "  Voyageur  Corps  "  which  he  formerly  held, 
has  led  the  writer  to  modify  his  opinion  somewhat  as  to 
Cameron. 

Cameron  succeeded  in  leading  away  about  three-quarters 
of  the  colony.  This  he  was  appointed  to  do  and  he  seems 
to  have  done  it  faithfully.  The  means  by  which  he  appealed 
to  the  Highland  colonists  may  have  been  less  dignified  than 


MEN    WHO    PLAYED    A    PART  265 

might  have  been  desired,  yet  his  warm  Highland  nature 
attracted  his  own  countrymen  in  the  settlement,  and  they 
probably  needed  little  persuasion  to  escape  from  their  hard- 
ships to  what  was  to  them  the  promised  land  of  Upper 
Canada. 

In  the  following  year  (1816),  as  already  stated,  Cameron  was 
in  command  of  Fort  Gibraltar,  and  it  was  determined  by 
Governor  Semple  to  destroy  the  North- West  fort  and  bring  its 
material  down  the  river  to  supplement  the  colony  establish- 
ment, Fort  Douglas.  Before  this  was  done  the  same  treatment 
that  was  given  to  Governor  Macdonell  by  the  Nor'-Westers  in 
arresting  him  was  meted  out  to  Cameron.  He  was  seized  by 
Colin  Robertson  and  carried  away  to  York  Factory,  to  be  taken 
as  a  prisoner  to  England.  This  high-handed  proceeding  was 
objectionable  on  several  grounds.  The  Imperial  Parliament 
had  transferred  the  right  of  dealing  with  offences  committed  in 
Rupert's  Land  to  the  Courts  of  Canada,  so  that  Robertson's 
action  was  clearly  ultra  vires.  Moreover,  if  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  under  its  charter  exercised  authority,  it  is  question- 
able whether  that  gave  the  right  to  send  a  prisoner  to  Britain 
for  trial,  the  more  that  no  definite  charge  was  laid  against 
Cameron.  Certainly  Cameron  had  reason  to  complain  of  great 
injustice  in  this  arrest.  Taking  him  all  in  all,  he  was  a  hot, 
impulsive  Highland  leader  of  men,  persuasive  and  adroit,  and 
did  not  hesitate  to  adopt  the  means  lying  nearest  to  attain  his 
purpose.  The  fact  that  from  1823  to  1828,  after  he  had  left  the 
Company's  service,  he  represented  the  County  of  Glengarry  in 
the  Upper  Canadian  Legislature,  shows  that  those  who  knew 
him  best  had  a  favourable  opinion  about  this  last  commander 
of  Fort  Gibraltar.  Fort  Gibraltar  was  never  rebuilt,  its  place 
and  almost  its  very  site  under  the  United  Company  being  taken 
by  the  original  Fort  Garry.  Sir  Roderick  Cameron,  of  New 
York,  who  has  been  connected  with  the  Australian  trade,  was 
a  son  of  Duncan  Cameron. 

CUTHBERT    GRANT. 

The  skirmish  of  Seven  Oaks  brought  into  view  a  fact  that 
had  hardly  made  itself  known  before,  viz.,  that  a  new  race,  the 
Metis,  or  half-breed  children  of  the  fur  traders  and  employes 


266  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

by  Indian  women,  were  becoming  a  guild  or  body  able  to  exert 
its  influence  and  beginning  to  realize  its  power. 

Of  this  rising  and  somewhat  dangerous  body  a  young  Scot- 
tish half-breed,  Cuthbert  Grant,  had  risen  to  sudden  promin- 
ence as  the  leader.  His  father,  of  the  same  name,  had  been  a 
famous  North- West  trader,  and  was  looked  upon  as  the  special 
guardian  of  the  Upper  Assiniboine  and  Swan  River  district. 
He  had  died  in  1799,  but  influential  as  he  had  been,  the  son 
became  from  circumstances  much  more  so.  The  North-West 
Company  knew  that  the  Scottish  courage  and  endurance  would 
stand  them  in  good  stead,  and  his  Indian  blood  would  give  him 
a  great  following  in  the  country.  Educated  in  Montreal,  he 
was  fitted  to  be  the  leader  of  his  countrymen.  His  dash  and 
enthusiasm  were  his  leading  characteristics.  When  the  war 
party  came  down  from  Qu'Appelle  and  Portage  La  Prairie, 
young  Cuthbert  Grant  was  its  natural  leader.  When  the  fight 
took  place  he  was  well  to  the  front  in  the  m&l&e,  and  it  is 
generally  argued  that  his  influence  was  exerted  toward  saving 
the  wounded  and  preventing  acts  of  barbarity,  such  as  savage 
races  are  prone  to  when  the  passions  are  aroused.  On  the 
night  of  June  19th,  when  the  victory  had  come  to  his  party, 
Cuthbert  Grant  took  possession  of  Fort  Douglas,  and  the  night 
was  one  for  revelry  exceeding  what  his  Highland  forbears  had 
ever  seen,  or  equal  to  any  exultation  of  the  Red  man  in  his  hour 
of  triumph. 

In  after  years,  when  peace  had  been  restored,  Cuthbert  Grant 
settled  in  the  neighbourhood  of  White  Horse  Plains,  a  region 
twenty  miles  west  of  Red  River  on  the  Assiniboine,  and  here 
became  an  influential  man.  He  was  the  leader  of  the  hunt 
against  the  buffalo,  on  which  every  year  the  adventurous 
young  men  went  to  bring  back  their  winter  supply  of  food.  In 
order  that  this  might  be  properly  managed,  to  protect  life  in  a 
dangerous  sport  and  to  preserve  the  buffalo  from  wanton 
destruction,  strict  rules  were  agreed  on  and  penalties  attached 
to  their  breach.  The  officer  appointed  by  the  Council  of 
Assiniboia  to  carry  out  these  laws  was  called  the  ' '  Warden  of 
the  Plains/'  This  office  Cuthbert  Grant  filled.  Of  the  fifteen 
members  of  the  Council  of  Assiniboia,  Grant  was  one,  and  he 
largely  reflected  the  opinion  of  the  French  half-breed  popula- 


MEN    WHO    PLAYED   A    PART  267 

tion  of  the  Red  River  settlement.  He  was  the  hero  of  the  plain 
hunters,  and  the  native  bards  never  ceased  to  sing  his  praises. 
His  case  is  a  remarkable  example  of  the  power  that  native 
representatives  obtain  among  mixed  communities. 

JOHN    PRITCHARD. 

The  name  of  John  Pritchard  carries  us  back  on  the  Red  River 
to  the  beginning  of  the  century — to  a  time  even  before  the 
coming  of  the  Selkirk  colony.  His  descendants  to  the  fourth 
generation  are  still  found  in  Manitoba  and  are  well  known.  He 
was  born  in  1777  in  a  small  village  in  Shropshire,  England,  and 
received  his  education  in  the  famous  Grammar  School  of 
Shrewsbury.  Early  in  the  century  he  emigrated  to  Montreal. 
At  that  time  the  ferment  among  the  fur  traders  was  great. 
The  old  North- West  Company  of  Montreal  had  split  into  sec- 
tions, and  to  the  new  Company,  or  X  Y  Company,  young  Prit- 
chard was  attached.  We  first  hear  of  him  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Souris  River  in  1805,  and  shortly  after  in  charge  of  one  of  the 
forts  at  that  point  where  the  Souris  River  empties  into  the 
Assiniboine. 

We  have  already  given  the  incident  of  Pritchard  being  lost 
on  the  prairie  for  forty  days.  Pritchard  does  not  seem  to  have 
taken  kindly  to  the  United  North-West  Company,  for  at  the 
time  of  the  Seven  Oaks  affair  we  find  him  as  one  of  the  garrison 
occupying  Fort  Douglas,  although  he  represents  himself  as 
being  a  settler  on  the  Red  River. 

After  the  skirmish  of  Seven  Oaks  Pritchard  sought  to 
escape  with  the  other  settlers  to  the  north  of  Lake  Winnipeg, 
but  was  made  prisoner  by  the  North-West  Company's  agents 
and  taken  to  Fort  William.  Thence  he  went  east  to  Montreal 
and  gave  evidence  in  connection  with  the  trials  arising  out  of 
the  Red  River  troubles.  Pritchard  was  a  capable  and  ready 
man.  His  evidence  is  clear  and  well  expressed.  He  had  much 
facility  in  doing  business,  and  had  a  smooth,  diplomatic 
manner  that  stood  him  in  good  stead  in  troublous  times. 

Pritchard  afterwards  entered  Lord  Selkirk's  service  and  as 
his  agent  went  over  to  London.  Returning  to  the  Red  River 
settlement,  he  married  among  the  people  of  Kildonan,  and 
lived  not  far  from  the  Kildonan  Church,  on  the  east  side  of 


268  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

the  river.  A  number  of  his  letters  have  been  printed,  which 
show  that  he  took  a  lively  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  settle- 
ment, especially  in  its  religious  concerns.  It  is  not,  then, 
remarkable  that  among  his  descendants  there  should  be  no 
less  than  seven  clergymen  of  the  Church  of  England.  It  is 
interesting  to  know  that  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  voted  him 
about  1833  a  gratuity  of  251.  in  consideration  of  valuable 
services  rendered  by  him  to  education,  and  especially  in  the 
establishment  of  Sunday  schools  and  day  schools.  This  man, 
whose  life  was  a  chronicle  of  the  history  of  the  settlement, 
passed  away  in  1856  and  was  buried  in  St.  John's  Churchyard. 

PIERRE   FALCON,    THE   RHYMESTER. 

Among  the  wild  rout  of  the  Nor'-Westers  at  the  skirmish  of 
Seven  Oaks  was  a  young  French  half-breed,  whose  father 
was  a  French  Canadian  engaged  in  the  fur  trade,  and  his 
mother  an  Indian  woman  from  the  Missouri  country.  The 
young  combatant  had  been  born  in  1793,  at  Elbow  Fort,  in  the 
Swan  River  district.  Taken  as  a  child  to  Canada,  young 
Pierre  lived  for  a  time  at  Laprairie,  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen 
returned  with  his  father  to  the  Red  River,  and  with  him  en- 
gaged in  the  service  of  the  North-West  Company.  What 
part  Falcon  took  in  the  affair  at  Seven  Oaks  we  are  not  told, 
except  that  he  behaved  bravely,  and  saw  Governor  Semple 
killed. 

Pierre  Falcon  was,  however,  the  bard  or  poet  of  his  people. 
This  characteristic  of  Falcon  is  quite  remarkable,  considered 
in  connection  with  the  time  and  circumstances.  That  a  man 
who  was  unable  to  read  or  write  should  have  been  able  to 
describe  the  striking  events  of  his  time  in  verse  is  certainly  a 
notable  thing.  He  never  tires  singing  in  different  times  and 
metres  the  valour  of  the  Bois  Brules  at  Seven  Oaks. 

"  Voulez-vous  ecouter  chanter 
Une  chanson  de  verite  ? 
Le  dix-neuf  Juin,  la  bande  des  Bois  Brfiles 
Sont  arrives  comme  des  braves  guerriers." 

Then  with  French  gaiety  and  verve  he  gives  an  account  of 
the  attack  on  the  Orkney  men,  as  he  calls  them,  and  recites 


MEN    WHO    PLAYED   A    PART  269 

the  Governor's  action  and  his  death.     Falcon  finishes  up  the 
chanson  with  a  wild  hurrah  of  triumph — 

"  Les  Bois  Brules  jetaient  des  cris  de  joie," 

The  lively  spirit  of  the  rhymester  broke  out  in  song  upon  all 
the  principal  events  which  agitated  the  people  of  the  settle- 
ment. Joseph  Tasse,  to  whom  we  are  chiefly  indebted  in  this 
sketch,  says  of  him,  "  all  his  compositions  are  not  of  the  same 
interest,  but  they  are  sung  by  our  voyageurs  to  the  measured 
stroke  of  the  oar,  on  the  most  distant  rivers  and  lakes  of  the 
North-West.  The  echoes  of  the  Assiniboine,  the  Mackenzie, 
and  Hudson  Bay  will  long  repeat  them." 

The  excitable  spirit  of  the  rhymer  never  left  him.  At  the 
time  of  the  Riel  rebellion  (1869-70)  Falcon  was  still  alive,  and 
though  between  seventy  and  eighty  years  of  age,  he  wished  to 
march  off  with  his  gun  to  the  fray,  declaring  that  "  while  the 
enemy  would  be  occupied  in  killing  him  his  friends  would  be 
able  to  give  hard  and  well-directed  blows  to  them." 

For  about  half  a  century  he  lived  on  the  White  Horse  Plains, 
twenty  miles  or  more  up  the  Assiniboine  from  Winnipeg,  and 
became  an  influential  man  in  the  neighbourhood.  His  mer- 
curial disposition  seems  to  have  become  more  settled  than  in 
his  fiery  youth,  for  though  unlettered,  he  was  made  a  justice 
of  the  peace. 

His  verse-making  was,  of  course,  of  a  very  simple  and 
unfinished  kind.  One  of  his  constant  fashions  was  to  end  it 
with  a  declaration  that  it  was  made  by  Falcon,  the  singer  of 
his  people. 

"  Qui  en  a  fait  la  chanson  ? 

Un  poete  de  canton  ; 

Au  bout  de  la  chanson 

Nous  vous  le  nommerona. 

Un  jour  etant  a  table, 

A  boire  et  a  chanter, 

A  chanter  tout  au  long 

La  nouvelle  chanson. 

Amis,  buvons,  trinquons, 

Saluons  la  chanson 

De  Pierriche  Falcon, 

Ce  faiseur  de  chanson." 

The  last  line  being  often  varied  to 

"  Pierre  Falcon,  le  borf  gar9on." 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 

GOVERNOR   SIMPSON   UNITES   ALL  INTERESTS. 

Both  Companies  in  danger — Edward  Ellice,  a  mediator — George 
Simpson,  the  man  of  destiny — Old  feuds  buried — Gatherings  at 
Norway  House — Governor  Simpson's  skill — His  marvellous 
energy — Reform  in  trade — Morality  low — A  famous  canoe  voyage 
— Salutes  fired — Pompous  ceremony  at  Norway  House — Strains 
of  the  bagpipe — Across  the  Rocky  Mountains — Fort  Vancouver 
visited — Great  executive  ability — The  governor  knighted — Sir 
George  goes  around  the  world — Troubles  of  a  book — Meets  the 
Russians — Estimate  of  Sir  George. 

AFFAIRS  in  Rupert's  Land  had  now  reached  their  worst  and 
had  begun  to  mend,  the  strong  hand  of  British  law  had  made 
itself  felt,  and  hostilities  had  ceased  from  Fort  William  to  far- 
off  Qu'Appelle  and  to  the  farther  distant  Mackenzie  River. 
The  feeling  of  antagonism  was,  however,  stirring  in  the  bosoms 
of  both  parties.  The  death  of  Lord  Selkirk  in  France  brought 
the  opposing  fur  traders  closer  together,  and  largely  through 
the  influence  of  Hon.  Edward  Ellice,  a  prominent  Nor'-Wester, 
a  reconciliation  between  the  hostile  Companies  took  place  and 
a  union  was  formed  on  March  26th,  1821,  under  the  name  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

The  affairs  of  both  Companies  had  been  brought  to  the  verge 
of  destruction  by  the  conflicts,  and  the  greatest  satisfaction 
prevailed  both  in  England  and  Canada  at  the  union.  The 
prospect  now  was  that  the  stability  of  the  English  Company 
and  the  energy  of  the  Canadian  combination  would  result  in  a 
great  development  of  the  fur  trade. 

As  is  so  often  the  case,  the  man  for  the  occasion  also  ap- 
peared. This  was  not  an  experienced  man,  not  a  man  long 
trained  in  the  fur  trade,  not  even  a  man  who  had  done  more 
than  spend  the  winter  in  the  fur  country  at  Lake  Atha- 

270 


SIMPSON    UNITES    ALL    INTERESTS         271 

basca.  He  was  simply  a  young  clerk,  who  had  approved 
himself  in  the  London  Hudson's  Bay  Company  office  to  Andrew 
Colville,  a  relation  of  the  Earl  of  Selkirk.  He  was  thus  free 
from  the  prejudices  of  either  party  and  young  enough  to  be 
adaptable  in  the  new  state  of  things.  This  man  was  George 
Simpson,  a  native  of  Ross -shire,  in  Scotland.  He  was  short  of 
stature,  but  strong,  vigorous,  and  observing.  He  was  noted 
for  an  ease  and  affability  of  manner  that  stood  him  in  good 
stead  all  through  his  forty  years  of  experience  as  chief  officer  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  He  became  a  noted  traveller, 
and  made  the  canoe  voyage  from  Montreal  to  the  interior  many 
times.  For  many  years  the  Nor'-Westers,  as  we  have  seen, 
held  their  annual  gathering  at  Grand  Portage  on  Lake  Superior, 
and  it  was  to  this  place  that  the  chief  officers  had  annually 
resorted.  The  new  element  of  the  English  Company  coming 
in  from  Hudson  Bay  now  made  a  change  necessary.  Accord- 
ingly, Norway  House  on  Lake  Winnipeg  became  the  new 
centre,  and  for  many  years  the  annual  gathering  of  the  Com- 
pany leaders  in  the  active  trade  took  place  here.  The  writer 
has  had  the  privilege  of  perusing  the  minutes  of  some  of  these 
gatherings,  which  were  held  shortly  after  Governor  Simpson 
was  appointed.  These  are  valuable  as  showing  the  work  done 
by  the  young  Governor  and  his  method  of  dealing  with 
difficulties. 

While  it  has  always  been  said  that  Governor  Simpson  was 
dictatorial  and  overbearing,  it  will  be  seen  that  at  this  stage 
he  was  conciliatory  and  considerate.  He  acted  like  the  chair- 
man of  a  representative  body  of  men  called  together  to  consult 
over  their  affairs,  the  members  having  equal  rights.  On  June 
23rd,  1823,  one  of  his  first  meetings  was  held  at  Norway  House. 
Reports  were  given  in  detail  from  the  various  posts  and 
districts  in  turn.  Bow  River,  at  the  foot  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, was  reported  as  abandoned  ;  from  the  Upper  Red  River, 
it  was  stated  that  on  account  of  prairie  fires  the  buffalo  were 
few,  and  that  the  wild  Assiniboines  had  betaken  themselves  to 
the  Saskatchewan  to  enjoy  its  plenty. 

From  Lower  Red  River  came  the  news  that  the  attempt  to 
prevent  the  natives  trading  in  furs  had  been  carried  rather  too 
far.  Furs  belonging  to  a  petty  trader,  Laronde,  had  been 


272  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

seized,  confiscated,  and  sent  to  Hudson  Bay.  It  was  learned 
that  Laronde  had  not  been  duly  aware  of  the  new  regulations, 
and  it  was  ordered  that  compensation  be  made  to  him.  This 
was  done,  and  he  and  his  family  were  fully  satisfied.  The 
Catholic  Mission  at  Pembina  had  been  moved  down  to  the 
Forks,  where  now  St.  Boniface  stands,  and  the  desire  was 
expressed  that  the  traders  should  withdraw  their  trade  as 
much  as  possible  from  the  south  side  of  the  United  States' 
boundary  line. 

The  reports  from  the  Selkirk  settlement  were  of  a  favourable 
kind.  The  Sioux,  who  had  come  from  their  land  of  the  Dako- 
tas  to  meet  Lord  Selkirk,  were  not  encouraged  to  make  any 
further  visits.  The  Selkirk  colony  was  said  to  be  very 
prosperous,  and  it  is  stated  that  it  was  the  intention  of  the 
new  Company  soon  to  take  over  the  property  belonging  to 
Lord  Selkirk  in  the  colony. 

Some  conflicts  had  arisen  in  the  Lac  La  Pluie  (Rainy  Lake) 
district,  and  these  were  soothed  and  settled.  Reference  is 
made  to  the  fact  that  Grand  Portage  having  been  found  to  be 
on  United  States'  territory,  new  arrangements  had  been  made 
for  avoiding  collision  with  the  Americans. 

Reports  were  even  given  in  of  prosperous  trade  in  the  far- 
distant  Columbia,  and  steps  were  taken  at  various  points  to 
reduce  the  number  of  posts,  the  union  of  the  Companies  having 
made  this  possible. 

In  all  these  proceedings,  there  may  be  seen  the  influence 
of  the  diplomatic  and  shrewd  young  Governor  doing  away 
with  difficulties  and  making  plans  for  the  extension  of  a 
successful  trade  in  the  future.  It  was  not  surprising  that  the 
Council  invested  Governor  Simpson  with  power  to  act  during 
the  adjournment. 

Sometimes  at  Moose  Factory,  now  at  York,  then  at  Norway 
House,  and  again  at  Red  River,  the  energetic  Governor  paid 
his  visits.  He  was  noted  for  the  imperious  and  impetuous 
haste  with  which  he  drove  his  voyageurs  through  the  lonely 
wilds.  For  years  a  story  was  prevalent  in  the  Red  River 
country  that  a  stalwart  French  voyageur,  who  was  a  favourite 
with  the  Governor,  was  once,  in  crossing  the  Lake  of  the 
Woods,  so  irritated  by  the  Governor's  unreasonable  urging, 


I  i 

'—  — 

i! 


SIMPSON    UNITES   ALL    INTERESTS         273 

that  he  seized  his  tormentor,  who  was  small  in  stature,  by  the 
shoulders,  and  dipped  him  into  the  lake,  giving  vent  to  his 
feelings  in  an  emphatic  French  oath. 

The  Governor  knew  how  to  attach  his  people  to  himself,  and 
he  gathered  around  him  in  the  course  of  his  career  of  forty 
years  a  large  number  of  men  most  devoted  to  the  interests  of 
the  Company.  His  visits  to  Fort  Garry  on  the  Red  River 
were  always  notable.  He  was  approachable  to  the  humblest, 
and  listened  to  many  a  complaint  and  grievance  with  apparent 
sympathy  and  great  patience.  He  had  many  of  the  arts  of  the 
courtier  along  with  his  indomitable  will. 

At  another  of  his  gatherings  at  Norway  House  with  the 
traders  in  1823  we  have  records  of  the  greatest  interest.  The 
canoe  had  been  the  favourite  craft  of  the  Nor1 -Westers,  but  he 
now  introduced  boats  and  effected  a  saving  of  one-third  in 
wages,  and  he  himself  superintended  the  sending  of  an  expedi- 
tion of  four  boats  with  twenty  men  by  way  of  Nelson  River 
from  York  Factory  to  far  distant  Athabasca.  He  was  quick 
to  see  those  who  were  the  most  profitable  as  workmen  for 
the  Company.  On  one  occasion  he  gives  his  estimate  as 
follows  :  "  Canadians  (i.e.,  French  Canadians)  preferable  to 
Orkney  men.  Orkneymen  less  expensive,  but  slow.  Less 
physical  strength  and  spirits.  Obstinate  if  brought  young 
into  the  service.  Scotch  and  Irish,  when  numerous,  quarrel- 
some, independent,  and  mutinous." 

At  this  time  it  was  determined  to  give  up  the  practice  of 
bestowing  presents  upon  the  Indians.  It  was  found  better  to 
pay  them  liberally  for  their  pelts,  making  them  some  advances 
for  clothing. 

The  minutes  state  at  this  time  that  there  was  little  progress 
in  the  moral  and  religious  instruction  of  the  Indians.  The 
excessive  use  of  spirits,  which  still  continued,  was  now  checked; 
the  quantity  given  in  1822  and  1823  was  reduced  one-half  and 
the  strength  of  the  spirits  lowered.  Missionaries  could  not 
be  employed  with  success,  on  account  of  the  small  number  of 
Indians  at  any  one  point.  The  only  hope  seemed  to  be  to  have 
schools  at  Red  River  and  to  remove  the  children  from  their 
parents  to  these.  Many  difficulties,  arising  from  the  objections 
of  the  parents,  were,  however,  sure  to  come  in  the  way. 
T 


274  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Evidences  were  not  wanting  of  chief  factors  being  somewhat 
alienated  from  the  Governor,  but  those  dissatisfied  were 
promptly  invited  to  the  Council  and  their  coolness  removed. 
In  carrying  out  discipline  among  the  men  some  difficulty  was 
experienced,  as  the  long  conflicts  between  the  Companies 
had  greatly  demoralized  the  employes.  One  plan  suggested 
was  that  offenders  should  be  fined  and  the  fines  vested  in 
a  charitable  fund.  It  was  found  that  this  would  only 
do  for  Europeans.  "  A  blow  was  better  for  a  Canadian," 
and  though  this  was  highly  reprobated,  it  was  justified  by 
experience. 

At  a  meeting  at  York  Factory  instructions  were  given  to 
Chief  Factor  Stuart  on  Lake  Superior  to  complete  and  launch 
a  new  vessel  much  larger  than  the  Discovery,  then  afloat. 
Captain  Bayfield,  R.N.,  the  British  officer  surveying  the  lakes, 
wintered  at  this  time  with  his  crew  at  Fort  William,  and  the 
work  of  surveying  the  lakes  promised  to  take  him  three 
summers. 

The  following  entry,  September  5th,  1823,  shows  the  con- 
siderate way  in  which  the  Governor  sought  the  advice  of  his 
Council : — "  Governor  Simpson  requested  permission  to  visit 
England.  If  granted,  will  hold  himself  ready  to  return  to 
Canada  in  1825  and  proceed  by  express  canoe  in  time  to  make 
arrangements  for  the  season."  At  the  same  date,  1823,  a  step 
in  advance  was  taken  in  having  a  permanent  and  representa- 
tive council  to  regulate  the  affairs  of  Red  River  Settlement. 
The  entry  reads,  ' '  Captain  Robert  Parker  Pelly,  Governor  of 
Assiniboia,  Rev.  Mr.  West,  Rev.  Mr.  Jones,  Mr.  Logan  added 
to  the  council.  Jacob  Corrigal,  chief  trader,  appointed  sheriff, 
vice  Andrew  Stewart,  deceased.  Rev.  Mr.  Jones  appointed 
chaplain  at  a  salary  of  100Z.  during  absence  of  Mr.  West.  He 
will  officiate  at  Red  River." 

There  lies  before  the  writer  a  work  entitled  ' '  Peace  River  ; 
a  Canoe  Voyage  from  the  Hudson  Bay  to  the  Pacific."  It 
was  written  by  Archibald  Macdonald  and  annotated  between 
forty  and  fifty  years  after  by  Malcolm  McLeod,  of  Ottawa.  It 
gives  a  graphic  account  of  the  state  maintained  by  Governor 
Simpson  and  his  method  of  appealing  to  the  imagination  of  the 
Indians  and  Company  servants  alike.  The  journey  was  made 


SIMPSON    UNITES    ALL    INTERESTS         275 

from  ocean  to  ocean,  the  point  of  departure  being  York 
Factory,  on  Hudson  Bay,  and  the  destination  Fort  Vancouver, 
on  the  Columbia  River.  In  addition  to  Macdonald,  Governor 
Simpson  took  with  him  Dr.  Hamlyn  as  medical  adviser,  and 
in  two  light  canoes,  provided  with  nine  men  each,  the  party 
went  with  extraordinary  speed  along  the  waterways  which 
had  already  been  the  scenes  of  many  a  picturesque  and  even 
sanguinary  spectacle. 

Fourteen  chief  officers — factors  and  traders — and  as  many 
more  clerks  were  summoned  on  July  12th,  1828,  to  give  a  send- 
off  to  the  important  party.  As  the  pageant  passed  up  Hayes 
River,  loud  cheers  were  given  and  a  salute  of  seven  guns  by 
the  garrison.  The  voyageurs  then  struck  up  one  of  the 
famous  chansons  by  which  they  beguiled  the  lonely  water- 
ways, and  with  their  dashing  paddles,  hastened  away  to  the 
interior. 

So  well  provided  an  expedition,  with  its  tents  for  camping, 
suitable  utensils  for  the  camp  fire,  arms  to  meet  any  danger, 
provisions  including  wine  for  the  gentlemen,  and  spirits  for 
the  voyageurs,  was  not  long  in  ascending  the  watercourses  to 
Norway  House,  where  the  outlet  of  Lake  Winnipeg  was 
reached. 

The  arrival  at  Norway  House  was  signalized  by  much 
pomp.  The  residents  of  the  fort  were  on  the  qui  vive  for  the 
important  visitor.  The  Union  Jack,  with  its  magic  letters 
"  H.  B.  C.,"  floated  from  the  tall  flagstaff  of  Norway  pine, 
erected  on  Signal  Hill.  Indians  from  their  neighbouring 
haunts  were  present  in  large  numbers,  and  the  lordly  Red  men, 
at  their  best  when  "  en  fete,"  were  accompanied  by  bevies  of 
their  dusky  mates,  who  looked  with  admiring  gaze  on  the 
"  Kitche  Okema  "  who  was  arriving. 

The  party  had  prepared  for  the  occasion.  They  had,  before 
reaching  the  fort,  landed  and  put  themselves  in  proper  trim 
and  paid  as  much  attention  to  their  toilets  as  circumstances 
would  permit.  Fully  ready,  they  resumed  their  Journey,  and 
with  flashing  paddles  speeded  through  the  deep  rocky  gorge, 
quickly  turned  the  point,  and  from  the  gaudily  painted  canoe 
of  the  Governor  with  high  prow,  where  sat  the  French  Canadian 
guide,  who  for  the  time  commanded,  there  pealed  forth  the 


276  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

strains  of  the  bagpipes,  while  from  the  second  canoe  was  heard 
the  sound  of  the  chief  factor's  bugle.  As  the  canoes  came 
near  the  shore,  the  soft  and  lively  notes  fell  on  the  ear  of 
"  La  Claire  Fontaine  "  from  the  lively  voyageurs.  Altogether, 
it  was  a  scene  very  impressive  to  the  quiet  residents  of  the 
post. 

The  time  of  the  Governor  was  very  fully  occupied  at  each 
stopping-place.  A  personal  examination  and  inspection  of 
each  post,  of  its  officers  and  employes,  buildings,  books,  trade, 
and  prospects  was  made  with  *  *  greatest  thoroughness/'  Fond 
as  the  Governor  was  of  pomp,  when  the  pageant  was  passed, 
then  he  was  a  man  of  iron  will  and  keenest  observation.  His 
correspondence  at  each  resting-place  was  great,  and  he  was 
said  to  be  able  to  do  the  work  of  three  men,  though  twelve 
years  after  the  date  of  the  present  Journey  he  became  affected 
with  partial  blindness. 

Fort  Chipewyan  had  always  maintained  its  pre-eminence  as 
an  important  depot  of  the  fur  trade.  The  travelling  emperor  of 
the  fur  traders  was  captured  by  its  picturesque  position  as 
well  as  by  its  historic  memories.  Here  he  found  William 
McGillivray,  with  whose  name  the  fur  traders  conjured,  and 
under  invitation  from  the  Governor  the  former  Nor'-Wester 
and  his  family  joined  the  party  in  crossing  the  Rockies.  The 
waving  of  flags,  firing  of  guns,  shouting  of  the  Indians  and 
employes,  and  the  sound  of  singing  and  bagpipe  made  the 
arrival  and  departure  as  notable  as  it  had  been  at  Norway 
House. 

A  little  more  than  a  month  after  they  had  left  York  Factory 
the  indomitable  travellers  entered  Peace  River,  in  order  to 
cross  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Fort  Vermilion,  Fort  Dunvegan, 
St.  John,  all  had  their  objects  of  interest  for  the  party,  but  one 
of  the  chief  was  that  it  was  a  scarce  year,  and  at  Dunvegan,  as 
well  as  at  Fort  McLeod  across  the  mountains,  there  was  not 
enough  of  food  at  hand  to  supply  the  visitors.  Cases  of 
dispute  were  settled  by  the  Governor,  who  presided  with  the 
air  of  a  chief  justice.  Caution  and  advice  were  given  in  the 
most  impressive  fashion,  after  the  manner  of  a  father  con- 
fessor, to  the  Indians,  fault  being  found  with  their  revelries 
and  the  scenes  of  violence  which  naturally  followed  from  these. 


SIMPSON    UNITES   ALL   INTERESTS        277 

From  McLeod  to  Fort  St.  James  the  journey  was  made  by 
land.  Thus  the  crest  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  was  crossed, 
the  voyageurs  packing  on  their  shoulders  the  impedimenta,  and 
horses  being  provided  for  the  gentlemen  of  the  party.  This 
was  the  difficult  portage  which  so  often  tried  the  traders. 
Fort  St.  James,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  at  Lake  Stuart, 
where  Fraser  started  on  his  notable  journey  down  the  Fraser 
River.  It  was  the  chief  place  and  emporium  of  New  Caledonia. 
The  entry  is  thus  described  :  "  Unfurling  the  British  ensign,  it 
was  given  to  the  guide,  who  marched  first.  After  him  came 
the  band,  consisting  of  buglers  and  bagpipers.  Next  came  the 
Governor,  mounted,  and  behind  him  Hamlyn  and  Macdonald 
also  on  horses.  Twenty  men  loaded  like  beasts  of  burden, 
formed  the  line  ;  after  them  a  loaded  horse  ;  and  finally, 
McGillivray  with  his  wife  and  family  brought  up  the 
rear." 

Thus  arranged,  the  imposing  body  was  put  in  motion. 
Passing  over  a  gentle  elevation,  they  came  in  full  view  of  the 
fort,  when  the  bugle  sounded,  a  gun  was  fired,  and  the  bag- 
pipes struck  up  the  famous  march  of  the  clans,  "  Si  coma  leum 
codagh  na  sha  "  ("  If  you  will  it,  war  ").  Trader  Douglas,  who 
was  in  charge  of  the  fort,  replied  with  small  ordnance  and  guns, 
after  which  he  advanced  and  received  the  distinguished  visitors 
in  front  of  the  fort. 

Passing  on,  by  September  24th  the  party  came  to  Fort 
Alexandria,  four  days  down  the  Fraser,  and  reached  Kamloops, 
the  junction  of  the  North  and  South  Thompson.  At  every 
point  of  importance,  the  Governor  took  occasion  to  assemble 
the  natives  and  employes,  and  gave  them  good  advice, 
"  exhorting  them  to  honesty,  frugality,  temperance/'  finishing 
his  prelections  with  a  gift  of  tobacco  or  some  commodity 
appreciated  by  them.  Running  rapids,  exposed  to  continual 
danger,  but  fortunate  in  their  many  escapes,  they  reached  Fort 
Langley,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Fraser  River,  two  days  less 
than  three  months  from  the  time  of  their  starting  from  York 
Factory.  From  this  point,  Governor  Simpson  made  his  way 
to  Fort  Vancouver  on  the  Columbia,  then  the  chief  post  on  the 
Pacific  Coast,  and  in  the  following  year  returned  over  the 
mountains,  satisfied  that  he  had  gained  much  knowledge  and 


278  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

that  he  had  impressed  himself  on  trader,  engagi,  and  Indian 
chief  alike. 

With  marvellous  energy,  the  Governor-in-Chief,  as  he  was 
called,  covered  the  vast  territory  committed  to  his  care. 
Establishments  in  unnecessary  and  unremunerative  places 
were  cut  down  or  closed.  Governor  Simpson,  while  in  some 
respects  fond  of  the  "  show  and  circumstance  "  which  an  old 
and  honourable  Company  could  afford,  was  nevertheless  a  keen 
business  man,  and  never  forgot  that  he  was  the  head  of  a 
Company  whose  object  was  trade.  It  cannot  be  denied  that 
the  personal  element  entered  largely  into  his  administration. 
He  had  his  favourites  among  the  traders,  he  was  not  above 
petty  revenges  upon  those  who  thwarted  his  plans,  and  his 
decisions  were  sometimes  harsh  and  tyrannical,  but  his  long 
experience,  extending  over  forty  years,  was  marked  on  the 
whole  by  most  successful  administration  and  by  a  restoration 
of  the  prestige  of  the  Company,  so  nearly  destroyed  at  the 
time  of  the  union. 

In  the  year  1839,  when  the  Colonial  Office  was  engaged  in 
settling  up  the  Canadian  rebellion  which  a  blundering  colonial 
system  had  brought  upon  both  Lower  and  Upper  Canada,  the 
British  Government  sought  to  strengthen  itself  among  those 
who  had  loyally  stood  by  British  influence.  Governor  Simpson 
and  the  whole  staff  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had  been 
intensely  loyal,  and  it  was  most  natural  and  right  that  the 
young  Queen  Victoria,  who  had  lately  assumed  the  reins  of 
power,  should  dispense  such  a  favour  as  that  of  knighthood  on 
the  doughty  leader  of  the  fur  traders.  Sir  George  Simpson 
worthily  bore  the  honours  bestowed  upon  him  by  his  Sover- 
eign, and  in  1841  undertook  a  voyage  round  the  world,  crossing, 
as  he  did  so,  Rupert's  Land  and  the  territories  in  his  rapid 
march.  Two  portly  volumes  containing  an  itinerary  of  the 
voyage,  filling  nine  hundred  pages,  appeared  some  five  years 
after  this  journey  was  completed.  This  work  is  given  in  the 
first  person  as  a  recital  by  the  Governor  of  what  he  saw  and 
passed  through.  Internal  evidence,  however,  as  well  as  local 
tradition  on  the  Red  River,  shows  another  hand  to  have  been 
concerned  in  giving  it  a  literary  form.  It  is  reported  that  the 
moulding  agent  in  style  and  arrangement  was  Judge  Thorn,  the 


SIMPSON    UNITES    ALL    INTERESTS        279 

industrious  and  strong-minded  recorder  of  the  Red  River 
Settlement. 

The  work  is  dedicated  to  the  directors  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company.  These  were  nine  in  number,  and  their  names  are 
nearly  all  well  known  in  connection  with  the  trade  of  this 
period.  Sir  John  Henry  Pelly,  long  famous  for  his  leadership  ; 
Andrew  Colville,  Deputy-Governor,  who,  by  family  connection 
with  Lord  Selkirk,  long  held  an  important  place ;  Benjamin 
Harrison ;  John  Halkett,  another  kinsman  of  Lord  Selkirk ; 
H.  H.  Berens  ;  A.  Chapman,  M.P. ;  Edward  Ellice,  M.P.,  a  chief 
agent  in  the  Union  and  a  most  famous  trader ;  the  Earl  of 
Selkirk,  the  son  of  the  founder ;  and  R.  Weynton.  The 
names  of  almost  all  these  traders  will  be  found  commemorated 
in  forts  and  trading -posts  throughout  Rupert's  Land. 

Leaving  London,  March  3rd,  1841,  the  Governor  called  at 
Halifax,  but  disembarked  at  Boston,  went  by  land  to  Montreal, 
and  navigation  being  open  on  May  4th  on  the  St.  Lawrence, 
he  and  his  party  started  and  soon  reached  Ste.  Anne,  on  Mon- 
treal Island.  The  evidence  of  the  humour  of  Sir  George's 
editor,  who  knew  Montreal  well,  is  seen  in  his  referring  to 
Moore's  "  Canadian  Boat  Song,"  in  saying,  "  At  Ste.  Anne's 
Rapid,  on  the  Ottawa,  we  neither  sang  our  evening  hymn 
nor  bribed  the  Lady  Patroness  with  shirts,  caps,  &c.,  for  a 
propitious  journey  ;  but  proceeded."  Following  the  old  canoe 
route,  Georgian  Bay  and  Lake  Superior  were  soon  passed  over, 
though  on  the  latter  lake  the  expedition  was  delayed  about  a 
week  by  the  ice,  and  here  too  Sir  George  met  the  sad  news  of 
the  unfortunate  death  of  his  kinsman,  Thomas  Simpson,  of 
whom  we  shall  speak  more  fully  in  connection  with  Arctic 
exploration.  Taking  the  route  from  Fort  William  by  Kamin- 
istiquia,  the  travellers  hastened  over  the  course  by  way 
of  Rainy  Lake  and  River  and  Lake  of  the  Woods.  In  referring 
to  Rainy  River  the  somewhat  inflated  style  of  the  editor  makes 
Sir  George  speak  without  the  caution  which  every  fur  trader 
was  directed  to  cultivate  in  revealing  the  resources  of  the  fur 
country.  A  decade  afterwards  Mr.  Roebuck,  before  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  House  of  Commons,  "  heckled  "  Sir  George  over 
this  fulsome  passage.  The  passage  is  :  "  From  the  very  brink 
of  the  river  (Rainy  River)  there  rises  a  gentle  slope  of  green- 


280  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

wood,  crowned  in  many  places  with  a  plentiful  growth  of  birch, 
poplar,  beech,  elm,  and  oak.  Is  it  too  much  for  the  eye  of 
philanthropy  to  discern,  through  the  vista  of  futurity,  this 
noble  stream,  connecting,  as  it  does,  the  fertile  shores  of  two 
spacious  lakes,  with  crowded  steamboats  on  its  bosom  and 
populous  towns  on  its  borders  ?  " 

Fo  lowing  the  usual  route  by  River  Winnipeg,  Lake  Winni- 
peg, and  Red  River,  Fort  Garry  was  soon  reached,  and 
here  the  Governor  somewhat  changed  his  plans.  He  deter- 
mined to  cross  the  prairies  by  light  conveyances,  and  accord- 
ingly on  July  3rd,  at  five  in  the  morning,  with  his  fellow-travel- 
lers, with  only  six  men,  three  horses,  and  one  light  cart,  the 
Emperor  of  the  Plains  left  Fort  Garry  under  a  salute  and  with 
the  shouting  of  the  spectators,  as  he  started  on  his  journey  to 
skirt  the  winding  Assiniboine  River. 

A  thousand  miles  over  the  prairie  in  July  is  one  of  the  most 
cheery  and  delightsome  journeys  that  can  be  made.  The 
prairie  flowers  abound,  their  colours  have  not  yet  taken  on  the 
full  blaze  of  yellow  to  be  seen  a  month  later,  and  the  mosquitoes 
have  largely  passed  away  on  the  prairies.  The  weather, 
though  somewhat  warm,  is  very  rarely  oppressive  on  the 
plains,  where  a  breeze  may  always  be  felt.  This  long  journey 
the  party  made  with  most  reckless  speed — doing  it  in  three 
weeks,  and  arriving  at  Edmonton  House,  to  be  received  by  the 
firing  of  guns  and  the  presence  of  nine  native  chiefs  of  the 
Blackfeet,  Piegans,  Sarcees,  and  Bloods,  dressed  in  their 
grandest  clothes  and  decorated  with  scalp  locks.  "  They 
implored  me,"  says  the  Governor,  "  to  grant  their  horses 
might  always  be  swift,  that  the  buffalo  might  instantly  abound, 
and  that  their  wives  might  live  long  and  look  young." 

Four  days  sufficed  at  Edmonton  on  the  North  Saskatchewan 
to  provide  the  travellers  with  forty-five  fresh  horses.  They 
speedily  passed  up  the  Saskatchewan  River,  meeting  bands  of 
hostile  Sarcees,  using  supplies  of  pemmican,  and  soon  catching 
their  first  view  of  the  white  peaks  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
Deep  muskegs  and  dense  jungles  were  often  encountered,  but 
all  were  overcome  by  the  skill  and  energy  of  the  expert  fur 
trader  Row  and  their  guide.  Through  clouds  of  mosquitoes 
they  advanced  until  the  sublime  mountain  scenery  was  beheld 


SIMPSON    UNITES   ALL   INTERESTS         281 

whenever  it  was  not  obscured  with  the  smoke  arising  from  the 
fires  through  this  region,  which  was  suffering  from  a  very  dry 
season.  At  length  Fort  Colville,  on  the  Columbia  River,  was 
gained  after  nearly  one  thousand  miles  from  Edmonton  ;  and 
this  journey,  much  of  it  mountain  travelling,  had  averaged 
forty  miles  a  day.  The  party  from  Fort  Garry  had  been  travel- 
ling constantly  for  six  weeks  and  five  days,  and  they  had 
averaged  eleven  and  a  half  hours  a  day  in  the  saddle.  The 
weather  had  been  charming,  with  a  steady  cloudless  sky,  the 
winds  were  light,  the  nights  cool,  and  the  only  thing  to  be 
lamented  was  the  appearance  of  the  whole  party,  who,  with 
tattered  garments  and  crownless  hats,  entered  the  fort. 

Embarking  below  the  Chaudiere  Falls  of  the  Columbia, 
the  company  took  boats,  worked  by  six  oars  each,  and  the 
water  being  high  they  were  able  to  make  one  hundred, 
and  even  more  miles  a  day,  in  due  course  reaching  Fort 
Vancouver. 

At  Fort  Vancouver  Governor  Simpson  met  Trader  Douglas 
— afterward  Sir  James  Douglas.  He  accompanied  the  party, 
which  now  took  horses  and  crossed  country  by  a  four  days' 
journey  to  Fort  Nisqually.  Here  on  the  shore  of  Puget  Sound 
lay  the  ship  Beaver,  and  embarking  on  her  the  party  went  on 
their  journey  to  Sitka,  the  chief  place  in  Alaska,  whence  the 
Governor  exchanged  dignified  courtesies  with  the  Russian 
Governor  Etholin,  and  enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  his  "  pretty 
and  lady-like  "  wife.  In  addition,  Governor  Simpson  exam- 
ined into  the  Company's  operations  (the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany had  obtained  exclusive  licence  of  this  sleepy  Alaska  for 
twenty  years  longer),  and  found  the  trade  to  be  10,000  fur  seals, 
1000  sea  otters,  12,000  beaver,  2500  land  otters,  -  -  foxes 
and  martins,  20,000  sea-horse  teeth. 

The  return  journey  was  made,  the  Beaver  calling,  as  she 
came  down  the  coast,  at  Forts  Stikine,  Simpson,  and  McLough- 
lin.  In  due  course  Fort  Vancouver  was  reached  again. 
Sir  George's  journey  to  San  Francisco,  thence  to  Sandwich 
Islands,  again  direct  to  Alaska,  and  then  westward  to  Siberia, 
and  over  the  long  journey  through  Siberia  on  to  St.  Peters- 
burg, we  have  no  special  need  to  describe  in  connection  with 
our  subject.  The  great  traveller  reached  Britain,  having 


282  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 


journeyed  round  the  globe  in  the  manner  we  have  seen,  in 
nineteen  months  and  twenty -six  days. 

Enough  has  been  shown  of  Sir  George's  career,  his  adminis- 
tration, method  of  travel,  and  management,  to  bring  before 
us  the  character  of  the  man.  At  times  he  was  accompanied  on 
his  voyages  to  more  accessible  points  by  Lady  Simpson,  and 
her  name  is  seen  in  the  post  of  Fort  Frances  on  Rainy  River 
and  in  Lake  Frances  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Liard  River, 
discovered  and  named  by  Chief  Factor  Robert  Campbell.  Sir 
George  lived  at  Lachine,  near  Montreal,  where  so  many  retired 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  men  have  spent  the  sunset  of  their 
days.  He  took  an  interest  in  business  projects  in  Montreal, 
held  stock  at  one  time  in  the  Allan  Line  of  steamships,  and 
was  regarded  as  a  leader  in  business  and  affairs  in  Montreal. 
He  passed  away  in  1860.  Sir  E.  W.  Watkin,  in  his  work, 
"  Recollections  of  Canada  and  the  States,"  gives  a  letter  from 
Governor  Dallas,  who  succeeded  Sir  George,  in  which  reference 
is  made  to  "  the  late  Sir  George  Simpson,  who  for  a  number 
of  years  past  lived  at  his  ease  at  Lachine,  and  attended  more 
apparently  to  his  own  affairs  than  to  those  of  the  Company." 
Whether  this  is  a  true  statement,  or  simply  the  biassed  view 
of  Dallas,  who  was  rather  rash  and  inconsiderate,  it  is  hard 
for  us  to  decide. 

Governor  Simpson  lifted  the  fur  trade  out  of  the  depth  into 
which  it  had  fallen,  harmonised  the  hostile  elements  of  the  two 
Companies,  reduced  order  out  of  chaos  in  the  interior,  helped, 
as  we  shall  see,  various  expeditions  for  the  exploration  of 
Rupert's  Land,  and  though,  as  tradition  goes  and  as  his  journey 
around  the  world  shows,  he  never  escaped  from  the  witchery 
of  a  pretty  face,  yet  the  business  concerns  of  the  Company  were 
certainly  such  as  to  gain  the  approbation  of  the  financial 
world. 


CHAPTER    x\\. 

Tin.  :•    Tin:  1 1 

Loneh  posts — Skilful  Fidlrr 

..us  library     A  rernarkaMe  will      A  stul>l>orn  Highlander — 
Life  at  man — Founding  trading 

houses — Beating   up   recruits — Priest    I'i" 
mimic 
a  fur  country     1.  »e-    A  tnmteil  tra<i  .  im  of 

tere — A     find     in     Kdinluirirh      Faithful     rorresponcl* 
Bishop's   cask    of    wine — !:  n  " — 

;tes — 

•  right — Traders    and 
ir  books. 

IT  was  an  empire  that  (iovernor  Simpson  rstablishrd  in  tlio 
solitudes  of  Rupert's  Land.  The  chaos  whieh  had  resulted 
from  the  disastrous  conflict  of  the  Comp  this 

Napoleon  of  the  fur  trade  reduced  to  order.     Men  who  had 

ajain-t   die  another     Mn<  donell  against 
donell,  McLeod  against  McLeod — learned  to  work  together 
and  gathered  around  the  same  Council  Board.     The  trade 
was  put  upon  a  paying  basis,  the  Indians  \\ere  encouraged, 
and  under  a  peaceful  rule  the  better  life  of  t !  B  began  to 

grow  up. 

It  is  true  this  social  life  was  in  many  •  :ni<|ue.     The 

trading  posts  were  often  hundreds  of  miles  apart,  being 
scattered  over  the  area  from  Labrador  to  Xew  Caledonia. 
•Still,  durini:  the  summer,  brigades  of  traders  carried  communi- 
cations from  post  to  post,  and  once  or  twice  in  winter  the 
swift -speeding  dog-trains  hastened  for  hundreds  of  miles  with 
:s  and  despatches  over  the  icy  wastes.  There  grew 
up  durinir  the  well-ni^rh  forty  years  of  George  Simpson's 
governorship  a  comradeship  of  a  very  strong  and  influential 
kind. 

283 


284  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Leading  posts  like  York  Factory  on  Hudson  Bay,  Fort  Garry 
in  the  Red  River  settlement,  Fort  Simpson  on  the  Mackenzie 
River,  and  Fort  Victoria  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  were  not  only 
business  centres,  but  kept  alive  a  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
sentiment  which  those  who  have  not  met  it  can  hardly  under- 
stand. Letters  were  written  according  to  the  good  old  style. 
Not  mere  telegraphic  summaries  and  business  orders  as  at  the 
present  day,  but  real  news-letters — necessary  and  all  the  more 
valuable  because  there  were  no  newspapers  in  the  land.  The 
historian  of  to-day  finds  himself  led  back  to  a  very  remarkable 
and  interesting  social  life  as  he  reads  the  collection  of  traders' 
letters  and  hears  the  tales  of  retired  factors  and  officers. 
Specimens  and  condensed  statements  from  these  materials 
may  help  us  to  picture  the  life  of  the  period. 

QUEER   OLD   PETER   FIDLER. 

Traditions  have  come  down  from  this  period  of  men  who 
were  far  from  being  commonplace  in  their  lives  and  habits. 
Among  the  most  peculiar  and  interesting  of  these  was  an 
English  trader,  Peter  Fidler,  who  for  forty  years  played  his 
part  among  the  trying  events  preceding  Governor  Simpson's 
time,  and  closed  his  career  in  the  year  after  the  union  of  the 
Companies.  The  quaint  old  trader,  Peter  Fidler,  is  said  to 
have  belonged  to  the  town  of  Bolsover,  in  the  County  of  Derby, 
England,  and  was  born  August  16th,  1769.  From  his  own 
statement  we  know  that  he  kept  a  diary  in  the  service  of  the 
Company  beginning  in  1791,  from  which  it  is  inferred  that 
he  arrived  in  Rupert's  Land  about  that  time  and  was  then 
engaged  in  the  fur  trade.  Eight  years  afterwards  he  was  at 
Green  Lake,  in  the  Saskatchewan  district,  and  about  the 
same  time  in  Isle  a  la  Crosse.  In  this  region  he  came  into 
active  competition  with  the  North-West  Company  traders, 
and  became  a  most  strenuous  upholder  of  the  claims  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

Promoted  on  account  of  his  administrative  ability,  he  is 
found  in  the  early  years  of  the  new  century  at  Cumberland 
House,  the  oldest  post  of  the  Company  in  the  interior.  His 
length  of  service  at  the  time  of  the  establishment  of  the  Selkirk 
colony  being  above  twenty  years,  he  was  entrusted  with  the 


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THE   LIFE   OF    THE    TRADERS  285 

conduct  of  one  of  the  parties  of  settlers  from  Hudson  Bay  to 
Red  River. 

In  his  will,  a  copy  of  which  lies  before  the  writer,  it  is  made 
quite  evident  that  Fidler  was  a  man  of  education,  and  he  left 
his  collection  of  five  hundred  books  to  be  the  nucleus  of  a 
library  which  was  afterwards  absorbed  into  the  Red  River 
library,  and  of  which  volumes  are  to  be  seen  in  Winnipeg  to 
this  day. 

But  Fidler  was  very  much  more  than  a  mere  fur  trader. 
He  is  called  in  his  will  "  Surveyor  "  and  trader  for  the  Hon- 
ourable Hudson's  Bay  Company.  He  was  stated  to  have 
made  the  boundary  survey  of  the  district  of  Assiniboia,  the 
limits  of  which  have  been  already  referred  to  in  the  chapter  on 
Lord  Selkirk.  He  also  surveyed  the  lots  for  the  Selkirk 
settlers,  in  what  was  at  that  time  the  parish  of  Kildonan.  The 
plan  of  the  Selkirk  settlement  made  by  him  may  be  found  in 
Amos's  Trials  and  in  the  Blue  Book  of  1819,  and  this  proved 
to  be  of  great  value  in  the  troublesome  lawsuits  arising  out 
of  the  disputes  between  the  fur  companies.  The  plan  itself 
states  that  the  lots  were  established  in  1814  ;  and  we  find 
them  to  be  thirty -six  in  number. 

About  the  same  time  Fidler  was  placed  in  charge  of  the 
Red  River  district,  and  it  is  said  that  the  traders  and  clerks 
found  him  somewhat  arbitrary  and  headstrong.  As  the 
troubles  were  coming  on,  and  Governor  Semple  had  taken 
command  of  the  Red  River  Company's  fort  and  colony,  Fidler 
was  placed  in  charge  of  Brandon  House,  then  a  considerable 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  Fort.  He  gives  an  account  of  the 
hostilities  between  the  Companies  there  and  of  the  seizure  of 
arms.  He  continues  actively  engaged  in  the  Company's  ser- 
vice, and  from  his  will  being  made  at  Norway  House,  this 
would  seem  to  have  been  his  headquarters,  although  in  the 
official  statement  of  the  administration  of  his  effects  he  is 
stated  to  be  "  late  of  York  Factory." 

Mr.  Justice  Archer  Martin,  in  his  useful  book,  "  Hudson's 
Bay  Company's  Land  Tenure,"  gives  us  an  interesting  letter 
of  Alexander  McLean  to  Peter  Fidler,  dated  1821.  This  is  the 
time  of  the  Union  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and  the 
North-West  Company.  In  the  letter  mention  is  made  of  the 


286  THE   HUDSON'S    BAY    COMPANY 

departure  for  New  York  of  (Mr.  Nicholas)  Garry,  a  gentleman 
of  the  honourable  committee,  and  of  Mr.  Simon  McGillivray, 
one  of  the  North-West  Company.  We  have  spoken  elsewhere 
of  Mr.  Garry's  visit,  and  a  few  years  afterward  Fort  Garry 
was  named  after  this  officer. 

The  chief  interest  to  us,  however,  centres  in  Fidler's  eccen- 
tric will.     We  give  a  synopsis  of  it : — 

(1)  He  requests  that  he  may  be  buried  at  the  colony  of  Red 
River  should  he  die  in  that  vicinity. 

(2)  He  directs  that  his  journals,  covering  twenty-five  or 
thirty  years,  also  four  or  five  vellum  bound  books,  being  a  fair 
copy  of  the  narrative  of  his  Journeys,  as  well  as  astronomical 
and  meteorological  and  thermometrical  observations,  also  his 
manuscript  maps,  be  given  to  the  committee  of  the  Honourable 
Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

(3)  The  books  already  mentioned  making  up  his  library, 
his  printed  maps,  two   sets   of   twelve-inch  globes,  a  large 
achromatic  telescope,  Wilson's  microscope,  and  a  brass  sextant, 
a  barometer,  and  all  his  thermometers  were  to  be  taken  by  the 
Governor  of  the  Red  River  colony  and  kept  in  Government 
hands  for  the  general  good  of  the  Selkirk  colonists. 

(4)  Cattle,  swine,  and  poultry,  which  he  had  purchased  for 
one  hundred  pounds  from  John  Wills,  of  the  North-West 
Company,  the  builder  of  Fort  Gibraltar,  were  to  be  left  for 
the  sole  use  of  the  colony,  and  if  any  of  his  children  were  to 
ask  for  a  pair  of  the  aforesaid  animals  or  fowls  their  request 
was  to  be  granted. 

(5)  To  his  Indian  wife,  Mary  Fidler,  he  bequeathed  fifteen 
pounds  a  year  for  life  to  be  paid  to  her  in  goods  from  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  store,   to   be  charged  against  his 
interest  account  in  the  hands  of  the  Company. 

(6)  The  will  required  further  that  of  all  the  rest  of  the  money 
belonging  to  him,  in  the  hands  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
or  the  Bank  of  England,  as  well  as  the  legacy  left  him  by  his 
Uncle  Jasper  Fidler  and  other  moneys  due  him,  the  interest  be 
divided  among  his  children  according  to  their  needs. 

(7)  After  the  interest  of  Fidler's  money  had  been  divided 
among  his  children  till  the  youngest  child  Peter  should  come 
of  age,  the  testator  makes  the  following  remarkable  disposal 


THE   LIFE    OF    THE    TRADERS  287 

of  the  residue  :  "All  my  money  in  the  funds  and  other  personal 
property  after  the  youngest  child  has  attained  twenty -one 
years  of  age,  to  be  placed  in  the  public  funds,  and  the  interest 
annually  due  to  be  added  to  the  capital  and  continue  so  until 
August  16th,  1969  (I  being  born  on  that  day  two  hundred 
years  before),  when  the  whole  amount  of  the  principal  and 
interest  so  accumulated  I  will  and  desire  to  be  then  placed  at 
the  disposal  of  the  next  male  child  heir  in  direct  descent  from 
my  son  Peter  Fidler  "  or  to  the  next-of-kin.  He  leaves  his 
"  Copyhold  land  and  new  house  situated  in  the  town  of 
Bolsover,  in  the  county  of  Derby/'  after  the  death  of  Mary 
Fidler,  the  mother  of  the  testator,  to  be  given  to  his  youngest 
son,  Peter  Fidler. 

This  will  was  dated  on  August  16th,  1821,  and  Fidler  died 
in  the  following  year.  The  executors  nominated  were  the 
Governor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  the  Governor  of  the 
Selkirk  settlement,  and  the  secretary  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company. 

Some  time  after  the  death  of  this  peculiar  man,  John  Henry 
Pelly,  Governor-in-Chief  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
Donald  McKenzie,  Governor  of  the  Selkirk  settlement,  and 
William  Smith,  Secretary  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
renounced  the  probate  and  execution  of  the  will,  and  in 
October,  1827,  "  Thomas  Fidler,"  his  natural  and  lawful  son, 
was  appointed  by  the  court  to  administer  the  will. 

A  considerable  amount  of  interest  in  this  will  has  been 
shown  by  the  descendants  of  Peter  Fidler,  a  number  of  whom 
still  live  in  the  province  of  Manitoba,  on  the  banks  of  the  Red 
and  Assiniboine  Rivers.  Lawyers  have  from  time  to  time 
been  appointed  to  seek  out  the  residue,  which,  under  the  will, 
ought  to  be  in  process  of  accumulation  till  1969,  but  no  trace 
of  it  can  be  found  in  Hudson's  Bay  Company  or  Bank  of 
England  accounts,  though  diligent  search  has  been  made. 

STUBBORN   JOHN   MCLEOD. 

John  McLeod  has  already  figured  in  our  story.  Coming 
out  with  Lord  Selkirk's  first  party  from  the  Island  of  Lewis, 
as  one  of  the  "  twelve  or  thirteen  young  gentleman  clerks," 
he,  as  we  have  seen,  gave  a  good  account  of  himself  in  the 


288  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

"imminent  and  deadly  breach/'  when  he  defended  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  encampment  at  the  Forks  against  the 
fierce  Nor'-Westers.  His  Journal  account  of  that  struggle  we 
found  to  be  well  told,  even  exciting.  It  further  gives  a 
picture  of  the  fur  trader's  life,  as  seen  with  British  eyes  and 
by  one  of  Hudson's  Bay  Company  sympathies. 

He  met  at  the  Forks,  immediately  on  his  arrival,  three 
chiefs  of  the  Nor'-Westers.  One  of  these  was  John  Wills, 
who,  as  an  old  X  Y  trader,  had  joined  the  Nor'-Westers  and 
shortly  after  built  Fort  Gibraltar.  A  second  of  the  trio  was 
Benjamin  Frobisher,  of  the  celebrated  Montreal  firm  of  that 
name,  who  perished  miserably ;  and  the  last  was  Alexander 
Macdonell,  who  was  commonly  known  as  "Yellow  Head," 
and  afterward  became  the  "  Grasshopper  Governor." 

McLeod  vividly  describes  the  scene  on  his  arrival,  when  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  as  represented  by  trader  William 
Hillier,  formally  transferred  to  Miles  Macdonell,  Lord  Sel- 
kirk's agent,  the  grant  of  land  and  the  privileges  pertaining 
thereto.  The  ceremony  was  performed  in  the  presence  of  the 
settlers  and  other  spectators.  McLeod  quaintly  relates  that 
the  three  bourgeois  mentioned  were  present  on  his  invitation, 
but  Wills  would  not  allow  his  men  to  witness  the  transaction, 
which  consisted  of  reading  over  the  concession  and  handing 
it  to  Macdonell.  Hugh  Henney,  the  local  officer  in  charge 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  affairs,  then  read  over  the 
concession  in  French  for  the  benefit  of  the  voyageurs  and  free 
traders. 

McLeod  relates  a  misadventure  of  irascible  Peter  Fidler  in 
dealing  with  a  trader,  Pangman,  who  afterwards  figured  in  Red 
River  affairs.  After  Henney  had  taken  part  in  the  formal 
cession,  he  departed,  leaving  McLeod  and  Pangman  in  charge 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  interests  at  the  Forks.  McLeod 
states  that  prior  to  this  time  (1813),  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany "  had  no  house  at  this  place,"  thus  disposing  of  a  local 
tradition  that  there  was  a  Hudson  Bay  trading  post  at  the 
Forks  before  Lord  Selkirk's  time.  McLeod,  however,  pro- 
ceeded immediately  to  build  "  a  good  snug  house."  This  was 
ready  before  the  return  of  the  fall  craft  (trade),  and  it  was  this 
house  that  McLeod  so  valiantly  defended  in  the  following  year. 


THE    LIFE    OF    THE    TRADERS  289 

During  the  summer  McLeod  found  Pangman  very  useful  in 
meeting  the  opposition  of  the  North-West  Company  traders. 
Peter  Pangman  was  a  German  who  had  come  from  the  United 
States,  and  was  hence  called  "  Bostonnais  Pangman,"  the  title 
Bostonnais  being  used  in  the  fur-trading  country  for  an 
American.  Fidler,  who  had  charge  of  the  district  for  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  refused  to  give  the  equipment 
promised  by  Henney  to  Pangman.  McLeod  speaks  of  the 
supreme  blunder  of  thus  losing,  for  the  sake  of  a  few  pounds, 
the  service  of  so  capable  a  man  as  Pangman.  Pangman  left 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  service,  joined  the  Nor'-Westers, 
and  was  ever  after  one  of  the  most  bitter  opponents  of  the 
older  Company.  After  many  a  hostile  blow  dealt  to  his 
opponents,  Pangman  retired  to  Canada,  where  he  bought  the 
Seigniory  of  Lachenaie,  and  his  son  was  an  influential  public 
man  in  Lower  Canada,  HOD.  John  Pangman. 

Events  of  interest  rapidly  followed  one  another  at  the  time 
of  the  troubles.  After  the  fierce  onset  at  the  Forks  had  been 
met  by  McLeod,  he  was  honoured  by  being  sent  500  miles 
south-westward  by  his  senior  officer,  Colin  Robertson,  with 
horses,  carts,  and  goods,  to  trade  with  the  Indians  on  the 
plains.  This  daring  journey  he  accomplished  with  only  three 
men — "  an  Orkneyman  and  two  Irishmen."  In  early  winter 
he  had  returned  to  Pembina,  where  he  was  to  meet  the  newly  - 
appointed  Governor,  Robert  Semple.  McLeod  states  that 
Semple  was  appointed  under  the  resolution  of  the  Board  of 
Directors  in  London  on  May  19th,  1811,  first  Governor  of 
Assiniboia.  From  this  we  are  led  to  think  that  Miles  Mac- 
donell  was  Lord  Selkirk's  agent  only,  and  was  Governor  by 
courtesy,  though  this  was  not  the  case. 

The  unsettled  state  of  the  country  along  the  boundary  line 
is  shown  in  a  frightful  massacre  spoken  of  by  McLeod.  On  a 
journey  down  the  Red  River,  McLeod  had  spent  a  night  near 
Christmas  time  in  a  camp  of  the  Saulteaux  Indians.  He  had 
taken  part  in  their  festivities  and  passed  the  night  in  their 
tents.  He  was  horrified  to  hear  a  few  days  after  at  Pembina 
that  a  band  of  Sioux  had,  on  the  night  of  the  feast,  fallen 
upon  the  camp  of  Saulteaux,  which  was  composed  of  thirty -six 
warriors,  and  that  all  but  three  of  those  making  up  the  camp 
u 


290  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

had  been  brutally  killed  in  a  night  attack.  On  his  return  to 
his  post  McLeod  passed  the  scene  of  the  terrible  massacre, 
and  he  says  he  saw  "  the  thirty-three  slain  bodies  scalped,  the 
knives  and  arrows  and  all  that  had  touched  their  flesh  being 
left  there." 

McLeod  was  noted  for  his  energy  in  building  posts.  Ho 
erected  an  establishment  on  Turtle  River  ;  and  in  the  year 
after  built  a  trading  house  beyond  Lake  Winnipeg,  at  the 
place  where  Oxford  House  afterward  stood. 

McLeod,  being  possessed  of  courage  and  energy,  was  sent 
west  to  Saskatchewan,  where,  having  wintered  in  the  district 
with  traders  Bird  and  Pruden,  and  faced  many  dangers  and 
hardships,  he  returned  to  Red  River  and  was  among  those 
arrested  by  the  Nor'-Westers.  He  was  sent  to  Montreal, 
where,  after  some  delay,  the  charge  against  him  was  summarily 
dismissed.  He  was,  while  there,  summoned  as  a  witness  in  the 
case  against  Reinhart  in  Quebec. 

In  Montreal  McLeod  was  rejoiced  to  meet  Lady  Selkirk,  the 
wife  of  his  patron,  from  whom  he  received  tokens  of  confidence 
and  respect. 

The  trader  had  a  hand  in  the  important  movement  by  which 
Lord  Selkirk  provided  for  his  French  and  German  dependents 
on  the  Red  River,  who  belonged  to  the  Roman  Catholic  faith, 
the  ordinances  of  religion.  As  we  shall  see,  Lord  Selkirk 
secured,  according  to  his  promise,  the  two  priests  Provencher 
and  Dumoulin,  and  with  them  sent  out  a  considerable  number 
of  French  Canadians  to  Red  River. 

McLeod's  account  of  his  part  in  the  matter  is  as  follows  : — 
"  On  my  way  between  Montreal  and  Quebec,  I  took  occasion, 
with  the  help  of  the  good  Roman  Catholic  priests,  Dumoulin  of 
Three  Rivers,  and  Provencher  of  Montreal,  to  beat  up  recruits 
for  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  service  and  the  colony  among 
the  French  Canadians.  On  the  opening  of  navigation  about 
May  1st,  I  started,  in  charge  with  a  brigade  of  seven  large 
canoes,  and  with  about  forty  Canadians,  some  with  their 
families,  headed  by  my  two  good  friends  the  priests — the  first 
missionaries  in  the  north  since  the  time  of  the  French  before  the 
conquest.  Without  any  loss  or  difficulty,  I  conducted  the 
whole  through  to  Norway  House,  whence  in  due  course  they 


THE    LIFE    OF    THE    TRADERS  291 

were  taken  in  boats  and  schooner  to  Red  River.  At  this  place 
we  had  a  navy  on  the  lake,  but  lately  under  the  command  of 
Lieutenant  Holt,  one  of  the  victims  of  1816.  Holt  had  been  of 
the  Swedish  navy." 

At  Norway  House  McLeod's  well-known  ability  and  trust- 
worthiness led  to  his  appointment  to  the  far  West,  ' '  and  from 
this  time  forth  his  field  was  northward  to  the  Arctic."  He  had 
the  distinguished  honour  of  establishing  a  permanent  highway, 
by  a  line  of  suitable  forts  and  trade  establishments  to  the  Peace 
River  region.  While  in  charge  of  his  post  he  had  the  pleasure 
of  entertaining  Franklin  (the  noble  Sir  John)  on  his  first 
Arctic  land  expedition,  and  afterwards  at  Norway  House  saw 
the  same  distinguished  traveller  on  his  second  journey  to  the 
interior  of  the  North  land. 

After  the  union  of  the  Companies,  McLeod,  now  raised  to  the 
position  of  Chief  Trader,  was  the  first  officer  of  the  old  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  to  be  sent  across  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  take 
charge  of  the  district  in  New  Caledonia.  Among  the  restless 
and  vindictive  natives  of  that  region  he  continued  for  many 
years  with  a  good  measure  of  success,  and  ended  up  a  career  of 
thirty-seven  years  as  a  successful  trader  and  thorough  defender 
of  the  name  and  fame  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  by 
retiring  to  spend  the  remainder  of  his  days,  as  so  many  of  the 
traders  did,  upon  the  Ottawa  River. 

WILLARD    FERDINAND    WENTZEI/S    DISLIKES    AND    THE   NEW 
REGIME. 

Wentzel  was  a  Norwegian  who  had  entered  the  North -West 
Company  in  1799,  and  spent  most  of  his  time  in  Athabasca 
and  Mackenzie  River  districts,  where  he  passed  the  hard  life  of 
a ' '  winterer  "  in  the  northern  department.  He  was  intelligent, 
but  a  mimic — and  this  troublesome  cleverness  prevented  his 
promotion  in  the  Company.  He  co-operated  with  Franklin  the 
explorer  in  his  journey  to  the  Arctic  Ocean.  Wentzel  was  a 
musician — according  to  Franklin  "  an  excellent  musician." 
This  talent  of  Ms  brightened  the  long  and  dreary  hours  of  life 
and  contributed  to  keep  all  cheerful  around  him.  A  collection 
of  the  voyageur  songs  made  by  him  is  in  existence,  but  they 
are  somewhat  gross,  Wentzel  married  a  Montagnais  Indian 


292  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

woman,  by  whom  he  had  two  children.  One  of  them  lived 
on  the  Red  River  and  built  the  St.  Norbert  Roman  Catholic 
Church  in  1855.  From  Wentzel's  letters  we  quote  extracts 
showing  the  state  of  feeling  at  the  time  of  the  union  of  the  fur 
companies  in  1821  and  for  a  few  years  afterwards. 

March  26th,  1821. — "  In  Athabasca,  affairs  seem  to  revive  ; 
the  natives  are  beginning  to  be  subjected  by  the  rivalship  in 
trade  that  has  been  carried  on  so  long,  and  are  heartily  desirous 
of  seeing  themselves  once  more  in  peaceable  times,  which 
makes  the  proverb  true  that  says,  '  Too  much  of  a  good  thing 
is  good  for  nothing/  Besides,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
have  apparently  realized  the  extravagance  of  their  measures  ; 
last  autumn  they  came  into  the  department  with  fifteen  canoes 
only,  containing  each  about  fifteen  pieces.  Mr.  Simpson 
(afterward  Sir  George),  a  gentleman  from  England  last  spring, 
superintends  their  business.  His  being  a  stranger,  and 
reputedly  a  gentlemanly  man,  will  not  create  much  alarm,  nor 
do  I  presume  him  formidable  as  an  Indian  trader.  Indeed, 
Mr.  Leith,  who  manages  the  concerns  of  the  North-West 
Company  in  Athabasca,  has  been  so  liberally  supplied  with 
men  and  goods  that  it  will  be  almost  wonderful  if  the 
opposition  can  make  good  a  subsistence  during  the 
winter.  Fort  Chipewyan  alone  has  an  equipment  of  no 
less  than  seventy  men,  enough  to  crush  their  rivals." 
(Editor's  note. — Another  year  saw  Simpson  Governor  of 
the  United  Company.) 

April  IQth,  1823. — "  Necessity  rather  than  persuasion,  how- 
ever, influenced  me  to  remain  ;  my  means  for  future  support 
are  too  slender  for  me  to  give  up  my  employment,  but  the  late 
revolution  in  the  affairs  of  the  country  (the  coalition  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  with  the  North-West  Company  in 
1821)  now  obliges  me  to  leave  it  the  ensuing  year,  as  the 
advantages  and  prospects  are  too  discouraging  to  hold  forth  a 
probability  of  clearing  one  penny  for  future  support.  Salaries 
do  not  exceed  one  hundred  pounds  sterling,  out  of  which  clerks 
must  purchase  every  necessity,  even  tobacco,  and  the  prices 
of  goods  at  the  Bay  are  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  or 
three  hundred  per  cent,  on  prime  cost,  therefore  I  shall  take 
this  opportunity  of  humbly  requesting  your  advice  how  to 


THE   LIFE    OF    THE    TRADERS  293 

settle  my  little  earnings,   which  do  not  much  exceed  five 
hundred  pounds,  to  the  best  advantage." 

March  1st,  1824. — "  Respecting  the  concerns  of  the  North- 
West  (country),  little  occurs  that  can  be  interesting  to  Canada. 
Furs  have  lost  a  great  deal  of  their  former  value  in  Europe,  and 
many  of  the  chief  factors  and  traders  would  willingly  com- 
pound for  their  shares  with  the  Company  for  one  thousand  five 
hundred  pounds,  in  order  to  retire  from  a  country  which  has 
become  disgusting  and  irksome  to  all  classes.  Still,  the  returns 
are  not  altogether  unprofitable  ;  but  debts,  disappointments, 
and  age  seem  to  oppress  everyone  alike.  Engages'  prices  are 
now  reduced  to  twenty-five  pounds  annually  to  a  boute  (fore- 
man), and  twenty  pounds  to  middlemen,  without  equipment  or 
any  perquisites  whatever.  In  fact,  no  class  enjoys  the  gratuity 
of  an  equipment.  Besides,  the  committee  at  home  insist  upon 
being  paid  for  families  residing  in  posts  and  belonging  to 
partners,  clerks,  or  men,  at  the  rate  of  two  shillings  for  every 
woman  and  child  over  fourteen  years  of  age,  one  shilling  for 
every  child  under  that  age.  This  is  complained  of  as  a 
grievance  by  all  parties,  and  must  eventually  become  very  hard 
on  some  who  have  large  families  to  support.  In  short,  the 
North- West  is  now  beginning  to  be  ruled  with  a  rod  of  iron.0 
(Evidently  Wentzel  is  not  an  admirer  of  the  new  regime.) 

FINLAY 's  SEARCH  FOB  FUR. 

The  name  of  Finlay  was  a  famous  one  among  the  traders. 
As  we  have  seen,  James  Finlay  was  one  of  the  first  to  leave 
Montreal,  and  penetrate  among  the  tribes  of  Indians,  in  search 
of  fur,  to  the  far  distant  Saskatchewan.  His  son  James  was  a 
trader,  and  served  in  the  firm  of  Gregory,  McLeod  &  Co.  As 
was  not  uncommon,  these  traders  had  children  by  the  Indian 
women,  having  a  "  country  marriage,"  as  it  was  called.  As 
the  result  of  these  there  was  connected  with  the  Finlay  family 
a  half-breed  named  Jaceo,  or  Jacko  Finlay,  who  took  his  part 
in  exploration  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  company  with  David 
Thompson.  Besides  these,  there  was  a  well-known  trader, 
John  Finlay,  who  is  often  difficult  to  separate  from  the  other 
traders  of  the  name. 

The  writer  has  lying  before  him  a  manuscript,  never  hitherto 


294  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

published,  entitled  "  A  Voyage  of  Discovery  from  the  Rocky 
Mountain  Portage  in  Peace  River,  to  the  Sources  of  Finlay's 
Branch,  and  North -West  ward :  Summer,  1824."  This  is 
certified  by  Chief  Factor  McDougall,  to-day  of  Prince  Albert, 
to  be  the  journal  of  John  Finlay.  As  it  illustrates  the  methods 
by  which  the  fur  country  was  opened,  we  give  a  few  extracts. 

May  13th. — "  Rainy  weather.  In  the  evening,  left  Rocky 
Mountain  Portage  establishment.  Crossed  over  to  the  portage 
and  encamped  for  the  night.  .  .  .  The  expedition  people  are 
as  follows  :  six  effective  canoe  men,  Joseph  Le  Guard,  Antoine 
Perreault  (bowman),  Joseph  Cunnayer,  J.  B.  Tourangeau, 
J.  M.  Bouche,  and  Louis  Olsen  (middleman),  M.  McDonald, 
Manson,  and  myself,  besides  Le  Prise,  and  wife,  in  all  ten 
persons.  Le  Prise  is  in  the  double  capacity  of  hunter  and 
interpreter." 

Finlay  speaks  of  "  The  existing  troubles  in  this  quarter 
caused  by  the  murderers  of  our  people  at  St.  John's,  roving 
about  free  and,  it  is  said,  menacing  all ;  but  as  this  is  an 
exploratory  voyage,  and  the  principal  motive  to  ascertain  the 
existence  of  beaver  in  the  country  we  are  bound  for,  we  shall 
do  our  best  to  accomplish  the  intentions  of  the  voyage/' 

nth. — "  Encamped  at  the  hill  at  the  little  lake  on  the  top 
of  the  hills  at  the  west  side  of  the  Portage.  Mr.  M.  shot  a 
large  fowl  of  the  grouse  kind,  larger  than  the  black  heath  cock 
in  Scotland.  Found  some  dried  salmon  in  exchange  with  Mr. 
Stunt  for  pemmican — a  meal  for  his  men,  and  this  year  he 
seems  independent  of  the  Peace  River,  at  least  as  far  as  Dun- 
vegan  :  they  have  nothing  in  provisions  at  the  Portage." 

Finlay  is  very  much  in  the  habit  of  describing  the  rock 
formations  seen  on  his  voyage.  His  descriptions  are  not  very 
valuable,  for  he  says,  "  I  am  not  qualified  to  give  a  scientific 
description  of  the  different  species  and  genera  of  the  different 
substances  composing  the  strata  of  the  Rocky  Mountains." 

22nd  May. — ' '  In  this  valley,  about  four  miles  before  us  right 
south,  Finlay's  branch  comes  in  on  the  right :  a  mile  and  a 
half  below  Finlay's  branch  made  a  portage  of  five  hundred 
paces.  At  a  rapid  here  we  found  the  Canny  cache  (a  hiding 
place  for  valuables)  ;  said  to  be  some  beaver  in  it  of  last  year's 
hunt." 


THE    LIFE    OF    THE    TRADERS  295 

23rd. — "Met  a  band  of  Indians,  who  told  us  they  were 
going  up  the  small  river — (evidently  this  had  been  named  after 
the  elder  Finlay,  as  this  instances  its  familiarity) — on  the  left, 
to  pass  the  summer,  and  a  little  before  another  river  on  the 
right ;  that  there  were  some  beavers  in  it,  but  not  so  many  as 
the  one  they  were  to  pass  the  summer  in." 

24th. — "  To-day  some  tracks  of  the  reindeer,  mountain  sheep 
and  goats,  but  the  old  slave  (hunter)  has  killed  nothing  but  a 
fowl  or  beaver  now  and  then." 

25th. — "  I  have  never  seen  in  any  part  of  the  country  such 
luxuriance  of  wood  as  hereabout,  the  valley  to  near  the  tops  of 
the  mountains  on  both  sides  covered  with  thick,  strong,  dark- 
green  branching  pines.  We  see  a  good  many  beaver  and  some 
fowl,  game  (bustards),  and  duck,  but  kill  few." 

Finlay  declares  to  the  slave,  the  hunter  of  his  party,  his 
intention  to  go  up  the  large  branch  of  the  Finlay.  "  This  is  a 
disappointment  to  him  as  well  as  to  the  people,  who  have 
indulged  their  imaginations  on  this  route  falling  on  the  Liard 
River,  teeming  in  beaver  and  large  animals." 

1th  June. — "  This  afternoon  we  have  seen  a  great  deal  of 
beaver  work,  and  killed  some  bustards  and  Canadian  grey 
geese  ;  we  have  seen  no  swans,  and  the  ducks,  with  few 
exceptions,  are  shabby." 

Finlay  gives  a  statement  of  his  journey  made  so  far,  thus  : — 

Rocky  Mountain  Portage  to  entrance  of  Finlay's 

Branch      ........  6  days. 

To  Deserter's  Portage 4  „ 

To  Large  Branch      .         .         .         .         .         .         .  5  „ 

To  Point  Du  Mouton 4  „ 

To  end  of  Portage            4  „ 

To  Fishing  Lakes 3  „ 

26  days. 


FINLAY   GIVES   HIS   VIEWS   AS   TO   A 

"  In  some  of  the  large  rivers  coming  into  Finlay's  branch, 
where  soft  ground  with  wood,  eligible  for  beaver,  had  been 
accumulated,  beaver  were  to  be  found.  Otherwise,  except 
such  places  as  here  and  here,  the  whole  country  is  one  con- 
tinued mountain  valley  of  rock  and  stone,  and  can  by  no 


296  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

means  come  under  the  denomination  of  a  beaver  country,  in 
the  common  acceptation  of  the  word,  on  the  waters  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  and  Mackenzie  River." 

June  I5th. — "Very  fine  warm  weather;  huge  masses  of 
snow  falling  down  from  the  mountains  with  a  noise  resembling 
thunder.  Those  snow  d'eboules  seem  irresistible,  shivering  the 
trees  to  atoms,  carrying  all  clean  before  them,  forming  ruins 
as  if  the  Tower  of  Babel  or  the  Pyramids  of  Egypt  had  been 
thrown  down  from  their  foundations." 

June  29th. — "  Made  a  good  fishery  to-day  :  7  trout,  12  carp, 
1  small  white  fish,  like  those  at  McLeod's  lake  in  Western 
Caledonia." 

Finlay  closes  his  journal  of  seventy -five  closely -written 
quarto  pages  at  the  lake  high  in  the  mountains,  where  he 
saw  a  river  rising.  This  lake  we  see  from  the  map  to  be  the 
source  of  the  Liard  River. 

A   TRUSTED    TRADER   AND    HIS    FRIENDS. 

Not  very  long  ago  it  was  the  good  fortune  of  the  writer  to 
be  in  Edinburgh.  He  was  talking  to  his  friend,  a  well-known 
Writer  to  the  Signet.  The  conversation  turned  on  the  old  fur- 
trading  days,  and  in  a  short  time  author  and  lawyer  found 
themselves  four  stories  high,  in  a  garret,  examining  boxes, 
packages,  and  effects  of  James  Hargrave  and  his  son  Joseph, 
who  as  fur  traders,  father  and  son,  had  occupied  posts  in 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  service  extending  from  1820  to 
1892. 

Several  cases  were  filled  with  copies  of  a  book  entitled  ' '  Red 
River,"  published  by  the  younger  Hargrave  in  1871.  Other 
boxes  enclosed  the  library  of  father  and  son.  Two  canvas 
bags  contained  many  pounds  of  new  farthings,  which,  by  some 
strange  mischance,  had  found  their  way  to  the  Hudson  Bay 
and  had  been  returned  as  useless.  Miscellaneous  articles  of 
no  value  to  the  searchers  lay  about,  but  in  one  large  valise 
were  many  bundles  of  letters.  These  were  done  up  in  the 
most  careful  manner.  The  packages  were  carefully  tied  with 
red  tape,  and  each,  securely  sealed  with  three  black  ominous 
seals,  emphasized  the  effect  of  the  directions  written  on  them, 
in  some  cases  "  to  be  opened  only  by  my  son,"  in  others,  "  to 


THE   LIFE    OF    THE    TRADERS  297 

be  opened  only  by  my  children."  After  some  delay  the  per- 
mission of  the  heirs  was  obtained,  and  the  packages  were 
opened  and  examined. 

They  were  all  letters  written  between  1821  and  1859  by 
fur-trading  friends  to  James  Hargrave,  who  had  carefully 
preserved  them,  folded,  docketed,  and  arranged  them,  and 
who  had,  in  the  last  years  of  his  life  at  "  Burnside  House/'  his 
residence  at  Brockville,  Canada,  kept  the  large  correspondence 
as  the  "  apple  of  his  eye."  The  vast  majority  of  the  letters, 
numbering  many  hundreds  in  all,  had  been  addressed  to  York 
Factory.  For  most  of  his  life  Hargrave  had  been  in  charge  of 
York  Factory,  on  Hudson  Bay.  York  Factory  was  during  the 
greater  part  of  this  fur  trader's  life,  as  it  had  been  for  more 
than  a  century  before  his  time,  the  port  of  entry  to  which 
goods  brought  by  ship  from  Britain  had  been  borne  to  the 
interior  of  Rupert's  Land,  and  also  the  port  from  which  the 
ships  had  carried  their  precious  cargoes  of  furs  to  the  mother 
country.  James  Hargrave  had  thus  become  the  trusted 
correspondent  of  governor  and  merchant,  of  bishop  and  clergy- 
man, of  medical  man  and  educationist.  He  was  emphatically 
a  middleman,  a  sort  of  Janus,  looking  with  one  face  to  the 
London  merchants  and  with  the  other  to  the  dwellers  in 
Rupert's  Land. 

But  Hargrave  was  also  a  letter -writer,  and  a  receiver  of 
many  news  letters  and  friendly  letters,  a  man  who  enjoyed 
conversation,  and  when  this  could  not  be  had  with  his  friends 
tete-a-tete,  his  social  chats  were  carried  on  by  means  of  letters, 
many  months  and  even  years  apart.  By  degrees  he  rose  in 
the  service.  From  the  first  a  friend  of  the  emperor-governor, 
he  has  the  good  wishes  of  his  friends  expressed  for  his  first 
rise  to  the  post  of  chief  trader,  which  he  gained  in  1833,  and 
by-and-bye  came  his  next  well-deserved  promotion  to  be  chief 
factor  in  1844. 

Along  with  all  these  letters  was  a  book  handsomely  bound 
for  keeping  accounts  and  private  memoranda.  This  book 
shows  James  Hargrave  to  have  been  a  most  methodical  and 
painstaking  man.  In  it  is  contained  a  list  of  all  the  promo- 
tions to  official  positions  of  commissioned  officers  for  nearly 
forty  years,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  Here  also  is  an 


298  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

account  of  his  investments,  and  the  satisfactory  statement 
that,  during  his  nearly  forty  years  of  service,  his  shares  of  the 
profits,  investments,  and  re -in  vestments  of  what  he  did  not 
use,  allowed  him  to  retire  from  active  service  with,  as  the  result 
of  his  labour,  about  8,700Z. 

The  writer  has  sought  to  glean  from  the  hundreds  of  letters 
in  the  Edinburgh  garret  what  is  interesting  in  the  life  of 
Rupert's  Land,  so  far  as  is  shown  in  the  writing  and  acting  of 
this  old  fur  trader  and  his  friends. 

Many  of  the  letters  are  from  Governor  Simpson.  These 
letters  of  the  Governor  are  chiefly  written  from  Red  River  or 
Norway  House — the  former  the  "  Fur  Traders'  Paradise/'  the 
latter  the  meeting-place  of  the  Council,  held  once  a  year  to 
decide  all  matters  of  business.  Occasionally  a  letter  of  the 
Governor's  is  from  Bas  de  la  Riviere  (i.e.  the  mouth  of  the 
Winnipeg  River),  written  by  that  energetic  officer,  as  might  be 
said,  "  on  the  wing,"  and  in  a  few  cases  from  London,  Eng- 
land, whither  frequently  Governor  Simpson  crossed  on  the 
business  of  the  Company. 

Governor  Simpson's  remarks  as  to  society  in  Red  River, 
1831,  are  keen  and  amusing  : — "  As  yet  we  have  had  one  fete, 
which  was  honoured  by  the  presence  of  all  the  elegance  and 
dignity  of  the  place  from  his  Reverence  of  Juliopolis  (Bishop 
Provencher)  down  to  friend  Cook,  who  (the  latter)  was  as 
grave  and  sober  as  a  bishop.  .  .  .  By-the-bye,  we  have  got  a 
very  '  rum  '  fellow  of  a  doctor  here  now  :  the  strangest  com- 
pound of  skill,  simplicity,  selfishness,  extravagance,  musical 
taste,  and  want  of  courtesy,  I  ever  fell  in  with.  The  people 
are  living  on  the  fat  of  the  earth,  in  short,  Red  River  is  a 
perfect  land  of  Canaan  as  far  as  good  cheer  goes.  ...  Do  me 
the  favour  to  pick  out  a  couple  pounds  of  choice  snuff  for  me 
and  send  them  by  Mr.  Miles." 

A  short  time  after  this,  Governor  Simpson,  writing,  says, 
speaking  of  the  completion  of  St.  John's  Church,  afterward 
the  Cathedral  Church,  and  referring  to  the  discontent  of  the 
Selkirk  settlers,  with  which  he  had  small  sympathy, ' '  We  have 
got  into  the  new  church,  which  is  really  a  splendid  edifice  for 
Red  River,  and  the  people  are  less  clamorous  about  a  Gaelic 
minister  than  they  were."  The  good  Governor  had  his  pleas- 


THE   LIFE    OF    THE    TRADERS  299 

ant  fling  at  the  claim  made  by  the  Highlanders  to  have  their 
private  stills  when  he  says,  "  And  about  whiskey  they  say  not 
one  word,  now  that  rum  is  so  cheap,  and  good  strong  '  heavy 
wet '  in  general  use."  Speaking  of  one  of  the  chief  officers 
who  was  off  duty,  the  Governor  says  ' '  Chief  Factor  Charles  is 
like  a  fish  out  of  water,  having  no  musquash  to  count,  nor 
Chipewyans  to  trade  with  ;  he  is  as  brisk  and  active  as  a  boy, 
and  instead  of  showing  any  disposition  to  retire,  wishes  to 
volunteer  to  put  a  finishing  hand  to  the  as  yet  fruitless  attempt 
at  discovering  the  North- West  passage." 

Governor  Simpson  knows  well  the  art  of  flattery,  and  his 
skill  in  managing  his  large  force  of  Company  officers  and  men 
is  well  seen.  He  states  to  Hargrave  that  he  once  predicted  at 
the  board  that  the  traders  of  York  Factory  would  yet  have  a 
seat  at  the  Board.  This,  he  stated,  gave  mortal  offence  to 
some  members,  but  he  was  to  bear  the  prediction  in  mind.  He 
compliments  him  on  sending  the  best -written  letter  that  he 
has  received  for  a  long  time,  and  we  find  that  in  the  following 
year  Hargrave  was  made  Chief  Trader.  This  was  the  occasion 
for  numerous  congratulations  from  his  friends  Archdeacon 
Cochrane  of  Red  River,  Trader  Sieveright,  and  others. 

The  news  of  the  time  was  common  subject  of  discussion 
between  the  traders  in  their  letters.  Governor  Simpson  gave 
an  account  of  the  outbreak  of  cholera  in  the  eastern  states 
and  provinces,  and  traces  in  a  very  graphic  way  its  dangerous 
approach  towards  Rupert's  Land.  Up  to  August,  1832,  fifteen 
hundred  people  had  died  in  Montreal.  The  pestilence  had 
reached  Mackinaw,  and  two  hundred  of  the  steamboat 
passengers  were  carried  off,  and  some  near  Sault  Ste.  Marie. 
"  God  grant,"  says  the  Governor,  "  it  may  not  penetrate 
further  into  our  wilds,  but  the  chances  are  decidedly  against 
us." 

That  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  officers  were  not  traders 
only  is  made  abundantly  evident.  In  one  of  his  letters, 
Governor  Simpson  states  that  their  countryman,  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  has  just  passed  away,  he  thanks  Hargrave  for  sending 
him  copies  of  Blackwood's  Magazine,  and  orders  are  often 
given  for  fresh  and  timely  books.  A  little  earlier  we  find  the 
minute  interest  which  the  fur  traders  took  in  public  events  in 


300  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

a  letter  from  Chief  Factor  John  Stuart,  after  whom  Stuart's 
Lake,  in  New  Caledonia,  was  named.  He  speaks  to  Hargrave 
of  the  continuation  of  Southey's  "  History  of  the  War  of  the 
Peninsula  "  not  being  published,  and  we  know  from  other 
sources  that  this  History  fell  still-born,  but  Stuart  goes  on  to 
say  that  he  had  sent  for  Col.  Napier's  "  History  of  the  Penin- 
sular War/'  "  Napier's  politics,"  says  Stuart,  "  are  different, 
and  we  shall  see  whether  it  is  the  radical  or  a  laurel  (Southey 
was  poet  laureate)  that  deserves  the  palm."  These  examples 
but  illustrate  what  all  close  observers  notice,  that  the  officers  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  not  only  read  to  purpose,  but 
maintained  a  keen  outlook  for  the  best  and  most  finished 
contemporary  literature.  Much  additional  evidence  might 
be  supplied  on  this  point. 

All  through  Governor  Simpson's  letters  there  is  a  strain  of 
sympathy  for  the  people  of  the  Company  that  is  very  beautiful. 
These  show  that  instead  of  being  a  hard  and  tyrannical  man, 
the  Governor  had  a  tender  heart.  In  one  of  his  letters  he 
expresses  sympathy  for  Trader  Heron,  who  had  met  misfor- 
tune. He  speaks  of  his  great  anxiety  for  a  serious  trouble  that 
had  arisen  in  Rev.  Mr.  Jones's  school  at  Red  River,  and  hopes 
that  it  may  not  injure  education  ;  he  laments  at  considerable 
length  over  Mr.  J.  S.  McTavish's  unfortunate  accident.  Hav- 
ing heard  of  Hargrave's  long  illness  he  sends  a  letter  of  warm 
sympathy,  and  this  in  the  midst  of  a  flying  visit,  and  in  London 
in  the  following  year  pays  every  attention  by  giving  kind, 
hospitable  invitations  to  Hargrave  to  enjoy  the  society  of 
himself  and  Lady  Simpson. 

The  racy  letters  of  Governor  Simpson  are  by  no  means  more 
interesting  than  those  of  many  others  of  Hargrave's  friends. 
Ordinary  business  letters  sometimes  seem  to  have  a  humorous 
turn  about  them  even  fifty  years  after  they  were  written.  The 
Roman  Catholic  Bishop  Provencher  (Bishop  of  Juliopolis  in 
partibus  infidelium)  affords  an  example  of  this.  He  writes  in 
great  distress  to  Hargrave  as  to  the  loss  of  a  cask  of  white 
wine  (une  barrique  de  vin  blanc).  He  had  expected  it  by  the 
York  boats  sent  down  by  the  great  Red  River  merchant,  An- 
drew McDermott.  .  .  .  The  cask  had  not  arrived.  The  good 
Bishop  cannot  understand  it,  but  presumes,  as  it  is  December 


THE   LIFE    OF    THE    TRADERS  301 

when  he  writes,  that  it  will  come  in  the  spring.  The  Bishop's 
last  remark  is  open  to  a  double  meaning,  when  he  says,  "  Leave 
it  as  it  is,  for  he  will  take  it  without  putting  it  in  barrels." 

The  Bishop  in  a  more  important  matter  addresses  Governor 
Simpson,  and  the  Governor  forwards  his  letter  to  York  Factory. 
In  this  Bishop  Provencher  thanks  him  for  giving  a  voyage  in 
the  canoes,  from  Red  River  to  Montreal,  to  Priest  Harper,  and 
for  bringing  up  Sub-Deacon  Poire,  a  "  young  man  of  talent." 
He  also  gives  hearty  thanks  for  a  passage,  granted  by  the 
Governor  on  the  fur  traders'  route  from  the  St.  Lawrence,  to 
two  stonemasons.  "  I  commence,"  he  said,  *'  to  dig  the 
foundation  of  my  church  to-morrow."  He  asks  for  a  passage 
down  and  up  for  members  of  his  ecclesiastical  staff.  He  wants 
from  York  Factory  forty  or  fifty  hoes  for  Mr.  Belcour  to  use  in 
teaching  the  Indians  to  cultivate  potatoes  and  Indian  corn,  and 
he  naively  remarks,  "  while  thus  engaged,  he  will  at  the  same 
time  cultivate  their  spirits  and  their  hearts  by  the  preaching 
of  the  Word  of  God."  The  eye  for  business  is  seen  in  the 
Bishop's  final  remark  that  he  thinks  "  that  the  shoes  from  the 
Bay  will  cost  much  less  than  those  made  by  the  smiths  at  Red 
River." 

Archdeacon  Cochrane,  a  man  of  gigantic  form  and  of 
amazing  bonhomie,  who  has  been  called  the  "  founder  of  the 
Church  of  England  on  Red  River,"  writes  several  interesting 
letters.  Beginning  with  business  he  drifts  into  a  friendly  talk. 
One  of  his  letters  deals  with  the  supplies  for  the  school  he  had 
opened  (1831)  at  St.  Andrew's,  Red  River,  another  sings  the 
praises  of  his  new  church  at  the  rapids  :  "  It  is  an  elegant  little 
church,  pewed  for  three  hundred  and  forty  people,  and  finished 
in  the  neatest  manner  it  could  be  for  Red  River.  The  ceiling 
is  an  arc  of  an  ellipse,  painted  light  blue.  The  moulding  and 
pulpit  brown  ;  the  jambs  and  sashes  of  the  windows  white." 

A  little  of  the  inner  working  of  the  fur-trading  system  in  the 
predominance  of  Scottish  influence  is  exhibited  by  Archdeacon 
Cochrane  in  one  letter  to  Hargrave.  Recurring  to  Hargrave's 
promotion  to  the  chief  tradership,  not  yet  bestowed,  the  old 
clergyman  quaintly  says, "  Are  you  likely  to  get  another  feather 
in  your  cap  ?  I  begin  to  think  that  your  name  will  have  to 
be  changed  into  MacArgrave.  A  '  mac  '  before  your  name 


302  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

would  produce  a  greater  effect  than  all  the  rest  of  your  merits 
put  together.  Can't  you  demonstrate  that  you  are  one  of  the 
descendants  of  one  of  the  great  clans  ?  " 

Among  the  correspondence  is  a  neat  little  note  to  Hargrave 
(1826)  from  Rev.  David  Jones,  the  Archdeacon's  predecessor, 
written  at  Red  River,  asking  his  company  to  a  family  dinner 
on  the  next  Monday,  at  2  p.m.  ;  and  a  delicate  missive  from 
Acting-Governor  Bulger,  of  Red  River,  asking  Hargrave  to 
accept  a  small  quantity  of  snuff. 

Among  Hargrave's  correspondents  are  such  notable  fur 
traders  as  Cuthbert  Grant,  the  leader  of  the  Bois  Briiles,  who 
had  settled  down  on  White  Horse  Plains,  on  the  Assiniboine 
River,  and  was  the  famous  captain  of  the  buffalo  hunters  ;  and 
William  Conolly,  the  daring  Chief  Factor  of  New  Caledonia. 
Events  in  Fort  Churchill  are  well  described  in  the  extensive 
correspondence  of  J.  G.  McTavish,  long  stationed  there  ;  and 
good  Governors  Finlayson  and  McMillan  of  Red  River  are  well 
represented ;  as  well  as  Alexander  Ross,  the  historian  of  the 
Red  River  affairs.  A  full  account  of  the  wanderings  from 
York  Factory  to  the  far  distant  Pacific  slope  of  Mr.  George 
Barnston,  who  afterwards  was  well  known  in  business  circles 
as  a  resident  of  Montreal,  could  be  gathered,  did  time  permit, 
from  a  most  regular  correspondence  with  Hargrave. 

Probably  the  man  most  after  the  York  Chief  Factor's  own 
heart  was  a  good  letter  writer,  John  Sieveright,  who  early 
became  Chief  Trader  and  afterwards  Chief  Factor  in  1846. 
Sieveright  had  become  acquainted  with  Hargrave  at  Sault 
Ste.  Marie.  Afterwards  he  was  removed  to  Fort  Coulonge  on 
the  Upper  Ottawa,  but  he  still  kept  up  his  interest  in  Hargrave 
and  the  affairs  of  Rupert's  Land.  Sieveright  has  a  play  of 
humour  and  pleasant  banter  that  was  very  agreeable  to 
Hargrave.  He  rallies  him  about  an  old  acquaintance,  the 
handsome  daughter  of  Fur  Trader  Johnston,  of  Sault  Ste. 
Marie,  who,  it  will  be  remembered,  married  an  Indian  princess. 
He  has  a  great  faculty  of  using  what  other  correspondents 
write  to  him,  in  making  up  very  readable  and  well  written 
letters  to  his  friends. 

For  many  years  Sieveright  was  at  Fort  Coulonge,  and  thus 
was  in  touch  with  the  Hudson's  Bay  Qompany  house  at 


THE    LIFE    OF    THE    TRADERS  303 

Lachine,  the  centre  of  the  fur  trade  on  this  continent.  Every 
year  he  paid  a  visit  to  headquarters,  and  had  an  advantage 
over  the  distant  traders  on  the  Saskatchewan,  Mackenzie,  and 
Nelson  Rivers.  He,  however,  seemed  always  to  envy  them 
their  lot.  Writing  of  Fort  Coulonge,  he  gives  us  a  picture  of 
the  fur  trader's  life  :  ' '  This  place  has  the  advantage  of  being 
so  near  the  civilized  world  as  to  allow  us  to  hear  now  and 
then  what  is  going  on  in  it ;  but  no  society  or  amusement  to 
help  pass  the  time  away.  In  consequence  I  cannot  help 
reading  a  great  deal  too  much — injurious  at  any  time  of  life — 
particularly  so  when  on  the  wrong  side  of  fifty.  I  have  been 
lately  reading  John  Gait's  '  Southernan,'  not  much  to  be 
admired.  His  characters  are  mostly  all  caricatures.  If  place 
will  be  allowed  in  paper  trunk,  I  shall  put  that  work  and 
*  Laurie  Todd  '  in  for  your  acceptance." 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 

THE  VOYAGEURS  FROM  MONTREAL. 

Lachine,  the  fur  traders'  Mecca — The  departure — The  flowing  bowl — 
The  canoe  brigade — The  voyageur's  song — "  En  roulant  ma 
boule  " — Village  of  St.  Anne's — Legend  of  the  Church — The 
sailor's  guardian — Origin  of  "  Canadian  Boat  Song  " — A  loud 
invocation — "  A  la  Claire  Fontaine  " — "  Sing,  nightingale  " — At 
the  rapids — The  ominous  crosses — "  Lament  of  Cadieux  " — A 
lonely  maiden  sits — The  Wendigo — Home  of  the  Ermatingers— 
A  very  old  canal — The  rugged  coast — Fort  William  reached — A 
famous  gathering — The  joyous  return. 

MONTREAL,  to-day  the  chief  city  of  Canada,  was,  after  the 
union  of  the  Companies,  the  centre  of  the  fur  trade  in  the  New 
World.  The  old  Nor '-Wester  influence  centred  on  the  St. 
Lawrence,  and  while  the  final  court  of  appeal  met  in  London, 
the  forces  that  gave  energy  and  effect  to  the  decrees  of  the 
London  Board  acted  from  Montreal.  At  Lachine,  above  the 
rapids,  nine  miles  from  the  city,  lived  Governor  Simpson,  and 
many  retired  traders  looked  upon  Lachine  as  the  Mecca  of  the 
fur  trade.  Even  before  the  days  of  the  Lachine  Canal,  which 
was  built  to  avoid  the  rapids,  it  is  said  the  pushing  traders  had 
taken  advantage  of  the  little  River  St.  Pierre,  which  falls  into 
the  St.  Lawrence,  and  had  made  a  deep  cutting  from  it  up 
which  they  dragged  their  boats  to  Lachine.  To  the  hardy 
French  voyageurs,  accustomed  to  "  portage  "  their  cargoes  up 
steep  cliffs,  it  was  no  hardship  to  use  the  improvised  canal  and 
reach  Lachine  at  the  head  of  the  rapids. 

Accordingly,  Lachine  became  the  port  of  departure  for  the 
voyageurs  on  their  long  journeys  up  the  Ottawa,  and  on  to  the 
distant  fur  country.  Heavy  canoes  carrying  four  tons  of 
merchandise  were  built  for  the  freight,  and  light  canoes,  some 
times  manned  with  ten  or  twelve  men,  took  the  officers  at 
great  speed  along  the  route.  The  canoes  were  marvels  of 

304 


. — PORTAGE. 


II. DISCHARGE. 


Page  304. 


THE    VOYAGEURS   FROM   MONTREAL       305 

durability.  Made  of  thin  but  tough  sheets  of  birch  bark, 
securely  gummed  along  the  seams  with  pitch,  they  were  so 
strong,  and  yet  so  light,  that  the  Indians  thought  them  an 
object  of  wonder,  and  said  they  were  the  gift  of  the  Manitou. 

The  voyageurs  were  a  hardy  class  of  men,  trained  from 
boyhood  to  the  use  of  the  paddle.  Many  of  them  were 
'  Iroquois  Indians — pure  or  with  an  admixture  of  white  blood. 
But  the  French  Canadians,  too,  became  noted  for  their  expert 
management  of  the  canoe,  and  were  favourites  of  Sir  George 
Simpson.  Like  all  sailors,  the  voyageurs  felt  the  day  of  their 
departure  a  day  of  fate.  Very  often  they  sought  to  drown 
their  sorrows  in  the  flowing  bowl,  and  it  was  the  trick  of  the 
commander  to  prevent  this  by  keeping  the  exact  time  of  the 
departure  a  secret,  filling  up  the  time  of  the  voyageurs  with 
plenty  to  do  and  leaving  on  very  short  notice.  However,  as 
the  cargo  was  well-nigh  shipped,  wives,  daughters,  children, 
and  sweethearts  too,  of  the  departing  canoe  men  began  to 
linger  about  the  docks,  and  so  were  ready  to  bid  their  sad 
farewells. 

In  the  governor's  or  chief  factor's  brigade  each  voyageur 
wore  a  feather  in  his  cap,  and  if  the  wind  permitted  it  a  British 
ensign  was  hoisted  on  each  light  canoe.  Farewells  were  soon 
over.  Cheers  filled  the  air  from  those  left  behind,  and  out 
from  Bachine  up  Lake  St.  Louis,  an  enlargement  of  the  St. 
Lawrence,  the  brigade  of  canoes  were  soon  to  shoot  on  their 
long  voyage.  No  sooner  had  "  le  maitre  "  found  his  cargo 
afloat,  his  officers  and  visitors  safely  seated,  than  he  gave  the 
cheery  word  to  start,  when  the  men  broke  out  with  a ' '  chanson 
de  voyage."  Perhaps  it  was  the  story  of  the  "  Three  Fairy 
Ducks,"  with  its  chorus  so  lively  in  French,  but  so  prosaic, 
even  in  the  hands  of  the  poetic  McLennan,  when  translated 
into  English  as  the  "  Rolling  Ball  "  :— 

"  Derridre  chez  nous,  il  y  a  un  etang 
(Behind  the  manor  lies  the  mere), 

En  roulant  ma  boule.     (Chorus.) 
Trois  beaux  canards  s'en  vont  baignant.) 
(Three  ducks  bathe  in  its  waters  clear.) 

En  roulant  ma  boule. 
Rouli,  roulant,  ma  boule  roulant, 
En  roulant,  ma  boule  roulant, 

En  roulant  ma  boule." 
X 


306  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

And  now  the  paddles  strike  with  accustomed  dash.  The 
voyageurs  are  excited  with  the  prospect  of  the  voyage,  all 
scenes  of  home  swim  before  their  eyes,  and  the  chorister  leads 
off  with  his  story  of  the  prince  (fils  du  roi)  drawing  near  the 
lake,  and  with  his  magic  gun  cruelly  sighting  the  black  duck, 
but  killing  the  white  one.  With  falling  voices  the  swinging 
men  of  the  canoe  relate  how  from  the  snow-white  drake  his 

"  Life  blood  falls  in  rubies  bright, 
His  diamond  eyes  have  lost  their  light, 
His  plumes  go  floating  east  and  west, 
And  form  at  last  a  soldier's  bed. 

En  roulant  ma  boule 
(Sweet  refuge  for  the  wanderer's  head), 

En  roulant  ma  boule, 
Rouli,  roulant,  ma  boule  roulant, 
En  roulant  ma  boule  roulant, 

En  roulant  ma  boule." 

As  the  brigade  hies  on  its  way,  to  the  right  is  the  purplish 
brown  water  of  the  Ottawa,  and  on  the  left  the  green  tinge  of 
the  St.  Lawrence,  till  suddenly  turning  around  the  western 
extremity  of  the  Island  of  Montreal,  the  boiling  waters  of  the 
mouth  of  the  Ottawa  are  before  the  voyageurs.  Since  1816 
there  has  been  a  canal  by  which  the  canoes  avoid  these  rapids, 
but  before  that  time  all  men  and  officers  disembarked  and  the 
goods  were  taken  by  portage  around  the  foaming  waters. 

And  now  the  village  of  Ste.  Anne's  is  reached,  a  sacred  place 
to  the  departing  voyageurs,  and  here  at  the  old  warehouse 
the  canoes  are  moored.  Among  the  group  of  pretty  Canadian 
houses  stands  out  the  Gothic  church  with  its  spire  so  dear  an 
object  to  the  canoe  men.  The  superstitious  voyageurs  relate 
that  old  Brebceuf,  who  had  gone  as  priest  with  the  early 
French  explorers,  had  been  bady  injured  on  the  portage  by 
the  fall  of  earth  and  stones  upon  him.  The  attendance  possible 
for  him  was  small,  and  he  had  laid  himself  down  to  die  on  the 
spot  where  stands  the  church.  He  prayed  to  Ste.  Anne,  the 
sailors'  guardian,  and  on  her  appearing  to  him  he  promised 
to  build  a  church  if  he  survived.  Of  course,  say  the  voyageurs, 
with  a  merry  twinkle  of  the  eye,  he  recovered  and  kept  his 
word.  At  the  shrine  of  "  la  bonne  Ste.  Anne  "  the  voyageur 
made  his  vow  of  devotion,  asked  for  protection  on  his  voyage, 
and  left  such  gift  as  he  could  to  the  patron  saint. 


THE    VOYAGEURS   FROM   MONTREAL       307 

Coming  up  and  down  the  river  at  this  point  the  voyageurs 
often  sang  the  song  : — 

"  Dans  mon  chemin  j'ai  rencontre 
Deux  cavaliers  tres  bien  mon  tea  ;  " 

with  the  refrain  to  every  verse  : — 

"  A  1'ombre  d'un  bois  je  m'en  vais  jouer, 
A  1'ombre  d'un  bois  je  m'en  vais  jouer." 
("  Under  the  shady  tree  I  go  to  play.") 

It  is  said  that  it  was  when  struck  with  the  movement  and 
rhythm  of  this  French  chanson  that  Thomas  Moore,  the  Irish 
poet,  on  his  visit  to  Canada,  while  on  its  inland  waters,  wrote 
the  "  Canadian  Boat  Song,"  and  made  celebrated  the  good 
Ste.  Anne  of  the  voyageurs.  Whether  in  the  first  lines  he 
succeeded  in  imitating  the  original  or  not,  his  musical  notes 
are  agreeable  : — 

"  Faintly  as  tolls  the  evening  chime, 
Our  voices  keep  tune  and  our  oars  keep  time.'1 

Certainly  the  refrain  has  more  of  the  spirit  of  the  boatman's 
song  : — 

"  Row,  brothers,  row  ;  the  stream  runs  fast, 
The  rapids  are  near  and  the  daylight's  past." 

The  true  colouring  of  the  scene  is  reflected  in 

"  We'll  sing  at  Ste.  Anne  ;  " 
and — 

"  Uttawa's  tide,  this  trembling  moon, 
Shall  see  us  float  over  thy  surges  soon.' ' 

Ste.  Anne  really  had  a  high  distinction  among  all  the  resting- 
places  on  the  fur  trader's  route.  It  was  the  last  point  in  the 
departure  from  Montreal  Island.  Religion  and  sentiment  for  a 
hundred  years  had  consecrated  it,  and  a  short  distance  above 
it,  on  an  eminence  overlooking  the  narrows — the  real  mouth  of 
the  Ottawa — was  a  venerable  ruin,  now  overgrown  with  ivy 
and  young  trees,  "  Chateau  brillant,"  a  castle  speaking  of 
border  foray  and  Indian  warfare  generations  ago. 

If  the  party  was  a  distinguished  one  there  was  often  a  priest 


3o8  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

included,  and  he,  as  soon  as  the  brigade  was  fairly  off  and  the 
party  had  settled  down  to  the  motion,  reverently  removing  his 
hat,  sounded  forth  a  loud  invocation  to  the  Deity  and  to  a  long 
train  of  male  and  female  saints,  in  a  loud  and  full  voice,  while 
all  the  men  at  the  end  of  each  versicle  made  response,  "  Qu'il 
me  benisse."  This  done,  he  called  for  a  song.  None  of  the 
many  songs  of  France  would  be  more  likely  at  this  stage  than 
the  favourite  and  most  beloved  of  all  French  Canadian  songs, 
"  A  la  Claire  Fontaine." 

The  leader  in  solo  would  ring  out  the  verse — 

"  A  la  claire  fontaine, 
M'en  allent  promener, 
J'ai  trouve  1'eau  si  belle, 
Que  je  m'y  sois  baigne." 

("  Unto  the  crystal  fountain, 
For  pleasure  did  I  stray  ; 
So  fair  I  found  the  waters, 
My  limbs  in  them  I  lay.") 

Then  in  full  chorus  all  would  unite,  followed  verse  by  verse. 
Most  touching  of  all  would  be  the  address  to  the  nightingale — 

"  Chantez,  rossignol,  chantez, 
Toi  qui  as  le  coeur  gai ; 
Tu  as  le  coeur  &  rire, 
Moi,  je  1'ai  a  pleurer." 

("  Sing,  nightingale,  keep  singing, 
Thou  hast  a  heart   so  gay  ; 
Thou  hast  a  heart  so  merry, 
While  mine  is  sorrow's  prey." 

The  most  beautiful  of  all,  the  chorus,  is  again  repeated,  and 
is,  as  translated  by  Lighthall  : — 

"  Long  is  it  I  have  loved  thee, 
Thee  shall  I  love  alway, 

My  dearest ; 

Long  is  it  I  have  loved  thee, 
Thee  shall  I  love  alway." 

The  brigade  swept  on  up  the  Lake  of  Two  Mountains,  and 
though  the  work  was  hard,  yet  the  spirit  and  exhilaration  of 
the  way  kept  up  the  hearts  of  the  voyageurs  and  officers,  and 
as  one  song  was  ended,  another  was  begun  and  carried  through. 


THE    VOYAGEURS   FROM   MONTREAL       309 

Now  it  was  the  rollicking  chanson,  "  C'est  la  Belle  Frangoise," 
then  the  tender  "  La  Violette  Dandine,"  and  when  inspiration 
was  needed,  that  song  of  perennial  interest,  "  Malbrouck  s'en 
va-t-en  guerre." 

A  distance  up  the  Ottawa,  however,  the  scenery  changes, 
and  the  river  is  interrupted  by  three  embarrassing  rapids.  At 
Carillon,  opposite  to  which  was  Port  Fortune,  a  great  resort  for 
retired  fur  traders,  the  labours  began,  and  so  these  rapids, 
Carillon,  Long  Sault,  and  Chute  au  Blondeau,  now  avoided  by 
canals,  were  in  the  old  days  passed  by  portage  with  infinite 
toil.  Up  the  river  to  the  great  Chaudiere,  where  the  City  of 
Ottawa  now  stands,  they  cheerfully  rowed,  and  after  another 
great  portage  the  Upper  Ottawa  was  faced. 

The  most  dangerous  and  exacting  part  of  the  great  river  was 
the  well-known  section  where  two  long  islands,  the  lower  the 
Calumet,  and  the  Allumette  block  the  stream,  and  fierce  rapids 
are  to  be  encountered.  This  was  the  piece  de  resistance  of 
the  canoe-men's  experience.  Around  it  their  superstitions 
clustered.  On  the  shores  were  many  crosses  erected  to  mark 
the  death,  in  the  boiling  surges  beside  the  portage,  of  many 
comrades  who  had  perished  here.  Between  the  two  islands  on 
the  north  side  of  the  river,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had 
founded  Fort  Coulonge,  used  as  a  depot  or  refuge  in  case  of 
accident.  No  wonder  the  region,  with  "  Deep  River  "  above, 
leading  on  to  the  sombre  narrows  of  "  Hell  Gate  "  further  up 
the  stream,  appealed  to  the  fear  and  imagination  of  the 
voyageurs. 

Ballad  and  story  had  grown  round  the  boiling  flood  of  the 
Calumet.  As  early  as  the  time  of  Champlain,  the  story  goes 
that  an  educated  and  daring  Frenchman  named  Cadieux  had 
settled  here,  and  taken  as  his  wife  one  of  the  dusky  Ottawas. 
The  prowling  Iroquois  attacked  his  dwelling.  Cadieux  and 
one  Indian  held  the  enemy  at  bay,  and  firing  from  different 
points  led  them  to  believe  that  the  stronghold  was  well 
manned.  In  the  meantime,  the  spouse  of  Cadieux  and  a  few 
Indians  launched  their  canoes  into  the  boiling  waters  and 
escaped.  From  pool  to  pool  the  canoe  was  whirled,  but  in  its 
course  the  Indians  saw  before  them  a  female  figure,  in  misty 
robes,  leading  them  as  protectress.  The  Christian  spouse  said 


310  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

it  was  the  "  bonne  Ste.  Anne,"  who  led  them  out  of  danger 
and  saved  them.  The  Iroquois  gave  up  the  siege.  Cadieux's 
companion  had  been  killed,  and  the  surviving  settler  himself 
perished  from  exhaustion  in  the  forest.  Beside  him,  tradi- 
tion says,  was  found  his  death-song,  and  this  "Lament 
de  Cadieux,"  with  its  touching  and  attractive  strain,  the 
voyageurs  sang  when  they  faced  the  dangers  of  the  foaming 
currents  of  the  Upper  Ottawa. 

The  whole  route,  with  its  rapids,  whirlpools,  and  deceptive 
currents,  came  to  be  surrounded,  especially  in  superstitious 
minds,  with  an  air  of  dangerous  mystery.  A  traveller  tells  us 
that  a  prominent  fur  trader  pointed  out  to  him  the  very  spot 
where  his  father  had  been  swept  under  the  eddy  and  drowned. 
The  camp-fire  stories  were  largely  the  accounts  of  disasters  and 
accidents  on  the  long  and  dangerous  way.  As  such  a  story 
was  told  on  the  edge  of  a  shadowy  forest  the  voyageurs  were 
filled  with  dread.  The  story  of  the  Wendigo  was  an  alarming 
one.  No  crew  would  push  on  after  the  sun  was  set,  lest  they 
should  see  this  apparition. 

Some  said  he  was  a  spirit  condemned  to  wander  to  and  fro 
in  the  earth  on  account  of  crimes  committed,  others  believed 
the  Wendigo  was  a  desperate  outcast,  who  had  tasted  human 
flesh,  and  prowled  about  at  night,  seeking  in  camping -places  of 
the  traders  a  victim.  Tales  were  told  of  unlucky  trappers  who 
had  disappeared  in  the  woods  and  had  never  been  heard  of 
again.  The  story  of  the  Wendigo  made  the  camping-place 
to  be  surrounded  with  a  sombre  interest  to  the  traders. 

Unbelievers  in  this  mysterious  ogre  freely  declared  that  it 
was  but  a  partner's  story  told  to  prevent  the  voyageurs  delay- 
ing on  their  journey,  and  to  hinder  them  from  wandering  to 
lonely  spots  by  the  rapids  to  fish  or  hunt.  One  of  the  old 
writers  spoke  of  the  enemy  of  the  voyageurs — 

"  II  se  nourrit  des  corps  des  pauvres  voyageurs, 
Des  malheureux  passants  et  des  navigateurs.'1 
("He  feeds  on  the  bodies  of  unfortunate  men  of  the  river,  of 
unlucky  travellers,  and  of  the  mariners.") 

Impressed  by  the  sombre  memories  of  this  fur  traders* 
route,  a  traveller  in  the  light  canoes  in  fur-trading  days,  Dr. 
Bigsby,  relates  that  he  had  a  great  surprise  when,  picking  his 


THE    VOYAGEURS    FROM    MONTREAL       311 

way  along  a  rocky  portage,  he  "  suddenly  stumbled  upon  a 
young  lady  sitting  alone  under  a  bush  in  a  green  riding  habit 
and  white  beaver  bonnet."  The  impressionable  doctor  looked 
upon  this  forest  sylph  and  doubted  whether  she  was 

"  One  of  those  fairy  shepherds  and  shepherdesses 
Who  hereabouts  live  on  simplicity  and  watercresses." 

After  confused  explanations  on  the  part  of  both,  the  lady  was 
found  to  be  an  Ermatinger,  daughter  of  the  well-known  trader 
of  Saulte  Ste.  Marie,  who  with  his  party  was  then  at  the  other 
end  of  the  portage. 

We  may  now,  with  the  privilege  accorded  the  writer,  omit 
the  hardships  of  hundreds  of  miles  of  painful  journeying,  and 
waft  the  party  of  the  voyageurs,  whose  fortunes  we  have  been 
following,  up  to  the  head  of  the  west  branch  of  the  Ottawa, 
across  the  Vaz  portages,  and  down  a  little  stream  into  Lake 
Nipissing,  where  there  was  an  old-time  fort  of  the  Nor'- 
Westers,  named  La  Ronde.  Across  Lake  Nipissing,  down  the 
French  River,  and  over  the  Georgian  Bay  with  its  beautiful 
scenery,  the  voyageurs'  brigade  at  length  reached  the  River 
St.  Mary,  soon  to  rest  at  the  famous  old  fort  of  Sault  Ste. 
Marie.  Sault  Ste.  Marie  was  the  home  of  the  Ermatingers, 
to  which  the  fairy  shepherdess  belonged. 

The  Ermatinger  family,  whose  name  so  continually  associates 
itself  with  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  affords  a  fine  example  of  energy 
and  influence.  Shortly  after  the  conquest  of  Canada  by  Wolfe, 
a  Swiss  merchant  came  from  the  United  States  and  made 
Canada  his  home.  One  of  his  sons,  George  Ermatinger, 
journeyed  westward  to  the  territory  now  making  up  Michigan, 
and,  finding  his  way  to  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  married,  engaged  in 
the  fur  trade,  and  died  there. 

Still  more  noted  than  his  brother,  Charles  Oaks  Ermatinger, 
going  westward  from  Montreal,  also  made  Sault  Ste.  Marie  his 
home.  A  man  of  great  courage  and  local  influence  in  the  war 
of  1812,  the  younger  brother  commanded  a  company  of  volun- 
teers in  the  expedition  from  Fort  St.  Joseph,  which  succeeded 
that  summer  in  capturing  Michilimackinac.  His  fur- trading 
establishment  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie  was  situated  on  the  south  side 
of  the  river,  opposite  the  rapids.  When  this  territory  was 


3i2  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

taken  possession  of  by  the  troops  of  the  United  States  in  1822, 
the  fur  trader's  premises  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie  were  seized  and 
became  the  American  fort.  For  some  years  after  this  seizure 
trader  Ermatinger  had  a  serious  dispute  with  the  United 
States  Government  about  his  property,  but  finally  received 
compensation.  True  to  the  Ermatinger  disposition,  the  trader 
then  withdrew  to  the  Canadian  side,  retained  his  British 
connection,  and  carried  on  trade  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  Drum- 
mond  Island,  and  elsewhere. 

A  resident  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie  informs  the  writer  that  the 
family  of  Ermatinger  about  that  place  is  now  a  very  numerous 
one,  "  related  to  almost  all  the  families,  both  white  and  red." 
Very  early  in  the  century  (1814),  a  passing  trader  named 
Franchere  arrived  from  the  west  country  at  the  time  that  the 
American  troops  devastated  Sault  Ste.  Marie.  Charles  Erma- 
tinger then  had  his  buildings  on  the  Canadian  side  of  the  river, 
not  far  from  the  houses  and  stores  of  the  North- West  Company, 
which  had  been  burnt  down  by  the  American  troops.  Erma- 
tinger at  the  time  was  living  on  the  south  side  of  the  river 
temporarily  in  a  house  of  old  trader  Nolin,  whose  family,  the 
traveller  tells  us,  consisted  of  "  three  half-breed  boys  and  as 
many  girls,  one  of  whom  was  passably  pretty."  Ermatinger 
had  just  erected  a  grist  mill,  and  was  then  building  a  stone 
house  "very  elegant."  To  this  home  the  young  lady  over- 
taken by  Dr.  Bigsby  on  the  canoe  route  belonged.  Of  the 
two  nephews  of  the  doughty  old  trader  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie, 
Charles  and  Francis  Ermatinger,  who  were  prominent  in  the 
fur  trade,  more  anon. 

The  dashing  rapids  of  the  St.  Mary  River  are  the  natural 
feature  which  has  made  the  place  celebrated.  The  exciting  feat 
of  "  running  the  rapids  "  is  accomplished  by  all  distinguished 
visitors  to  the  place.  John  Busheau,  or  some  other  dusky 
canoe-man,  with  unerring  paddle,  conducts  the  shrinking 
tourist  to  within  a  yard  of  the  boiling  cauldron,  and  sweeps 
down  through  the  spray  and  splash,  as  his  passenger  heaves  a 
sigh  of  relief. 

The  obstruction  made  by  the  rapids  to  the  navigation  of  the 
river,  which  is  the  artery  connecting  the  trade  of  Lakes  Huron 
and  Superior,  early  occupied  the  thought  of  the  fur  traders.  A 


THE    VOYAGEURS    FROM   MONTREAL       313 

century  ago,  during  the  conflict  of  the  North-West  Company 
and  the  X  Y,  the  portage  past  the  rapids  was  a  subject  of  grave 
dispute.  Ardent  appeals  were  made  to  the  Government  to 
settle  the  matter.  The  X  Y  Company  forced  a  road  through 
the  disputed  river  frontage,  while  the  North- West  Company 
used  a  canal  half  a  mile  long,  on  which  was  built  a  lock  ;  and 
at  the  foot  of  the  canal  a  good  wharf  and  storehouse  had  been 
constructed.  This  waterway,  built  at  the  beginning  of  the 
century  and  capable  of  carrying  loaded  canoes  and  considerable 
boats,  was  a  remarkable  proof  of  the  energy  and  skill  of  the 
fur  traders. 

The  river  and  rapids  of  St.  Mary  past,  the  joyful  voyageurs 
hastened  to  skirt  the  great  lake  of  Superior,  on  whose  shores 
their  destination  lay.  Deep  and  cold,  Lake  Superior,  when 
stirred  by  angry  winds,  became  the  grave  of  many  a  voyageur. 
Few  that  fell  into  its  icy  embrace  escaped.  Its  rocky  shores 
were  the  death  of  many  a  swift  canoe,  and  its  weird  legends 
were  those  of  the  Inini-Wudjoo,  the  great  giant,  or  of  the 
hungry  heron  that  devoured  the  unwary.  Cautiously  along 
its  shores  Jean  Baptiste  crept  to  Michipicoten,  then  to  the  Pic, 
and  on  to  Nepigon,  places  where  trading  posts  marked  the 
nerve  centres  of  the  fur  trade. 

At  length,  rounding  Thunder  Cape,  Fort  William  was 
reached,  the  goal  of  the  "  mangeur  de  lard  "  or  Montreal 
voyageur.  Around  the  walls  of  the  fort  the  great  encampment 
was  made.  The  River  Kaministiquia  was  gay  with  canoes  ; 
the  East  and  West  met  in  rivalry — the  wild  couriers  of  the 
West  and  the  patient  boatmen  of  the  East.  In  sight  of  the 
fort  stood,  up  the  river,  McKay  Mountain,  around  which 
tradition  had  woven  fancies  and  tales.  Its  terraced  heights 
suggest  man's  work,  but  it  is  to  this  day  in  a  state  of  nature. 
Here  in  the  days  of  conflict,  when  the  opposing  trappers  and 
hunters  went  on  their  expeditions,  old  Trader  McKay  ascended, 
followed  them  with  his  keen  eye  in  their  meanderings,  and 
circumvented  them  in  their  plans. 

The  days  of  waiting,  unloading,  loading,  feasting,  and  con- 
tending being  over,  the  Montreal  voyageurs  turned  their  faces 
homeward,  and  with  flags  afloat,  paddled  away,  now  cheerfully 
singing  sweet  "  Alouette." 


3i4  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

"  Ma  mignonette,  embrassez-moi. 
Nenni,  Monsieur,  je  n'oserais, 
Car  si  mon  papa  le  savait." 

(My  darling,  smile  on  me. 

No  !   No  !   good  sir,  I  do  not  dare, 

My  dear  papa  would  know  !   would  know  !] 

"  But  who  would  tell  papa  ?  " 

"  The  birds  on  the  forest  tree." 

"  Us  parlent  francais,  latin  aussi, 
Helas  !  que  le  monde  est  malin 
D'apprendre  aux  oiseaux  le  latin." 

("  They  speak  French  and  Latin  too, 
Alas  !   the  world  is  very  bad 
To  tell  its  tales  to  the  naughty  birds.") 

Bon  voyage  !  Bon  voyage,  mes  voyageurs  ! 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

EXPLORERS  IN  THE  FAR  NORTH. 

The  North-West  Passage  again — Lieut.  John  Franklin's  land  expedition 
— Two  lonely  winters — Hearne's  mistake  corrected — Franklin's 
second  journey — Arctic  sea  coast  explored — Franklin  knighted — 
Captain  John  Ross  by  sea — Discovers  magnetic  pole — Magnetic 
needle  nearly  perpendicular — Back  seeks  for  Ross — Dease  and 
Simpson  sent  by  Hudson's  Bay  Company  to  explore — Sir  John 
in  Erebus  and  Terror — The  Paleocrystic  Sea — Franklin  never 
returns — Lady  Franklin's  devotion — The  historic  search — Dr. 
Rae  secures  relics — Captain  McClintock  finds  the  cairn  and 
written  record — Advantages  of  the  search. 

THE  British  people  were  ever  on  the  alert  to  have  their  famous 
sea  captains  explore  new  seas,  especially  in  the  line  of  the 
discovery  of  the  North-West  Passage.  From  the  time  of 
Dobbs,  the  discomfiture  of  that  bitter  enemy  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  had  checked  the  advance  in  following  up  the 
explorations  of  Davis  and  Baffin,  whose  names  had  become 
fixed  on  the  icy  sea  channels  of  the  North. 

Captain  Phipps,  afterwards  Lord  Mulgrave,  had  been  the 
last  of  the  great  captains  who  had  taken  part  in  the  spasm  of 
north-west  interest  set  agoing  by  Dobbs.  Two  generations 
of  men  had  passed  when,  in  1817,  the  quest  for  the  North-West 
Passage  was  taken  up  by  Captain  William  Scoresby.  Scoresby 
advanced  a  fresh  argument  in  favour  of  a  new  effort  to  attain 
this  long-harboured  dream  of  the  English  captains.  He  main- 
tained that  a  change  had  taken  place  in  the  seasons,  and  the 
position  of  the  ice  was  such  as  probably  to  allow  a  successful 
voyage  to  be  made  from  Baffin's  Bay  to  Behring  Strait. 

Sir  John  Barrow  with  great  energy  advocated  the  project  of 
a  new  expedition,  and  Captain  John  Ross  and  Edward  Parry 
were  despatched  to  the  northern  seas.  Parry's  second 
expedition  enabled  him  to  discover  Fury  and  Hecla  Strait, 


316  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

to  pass  through  Lancaster  Strait,  and  to  name  the  continu- 
ation of  it  Barrow  Strait,  after  the  great  patron  of  northern 
exploration. 


Meanwhile  John  Franklin  was  despatched  to  cross  the  plains 
of  Rupert's  Land  to  forward  Arctic  enterprise.  This  notable 
man  has  left  us  an  heritage  of  undying  interest  in  connection 
with  this  movement.  A  native  of  Lincolnshire,  a  capable 
and  trusted  naval  officer,  who  had  fought  with  Nelson  at 
Copenhagen,  who  had  gone  on  an  Arctic  voyage  to  Spitzbergen, 
and  had  seen  much  service  elsewhere,  he  was  appointed  to 
command  the  overland  expedition  through  Rupert's  Land  to 
the  Arctic  Sea,  while  Lieutenant  Parry  sought,  as  we  have 
seen,  the  passage  with  two  vessels  by  way  of  Lancaster  Sound. 

Accompanied  by  a  surgeon — Dr.  Richardson — two  midship- 
men, Back  and  Hood,  and  a  fewOrkneymen,  Lieutenant  Frank- 
lin embarked  from  England  for  Hudson  Bay  in  June,  1819. 
Wintering  for  the  first  season  on  the  Saskatchewan,  the  party 
were  indebted  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  for  supplies,  and 
reached  Fort  Chipewyan  in  about  a  year  from  the  time  of  their 
departure  from  England.  The  second  winter  was  spent  by  the 
expedition  on  the  famous  barren  grounds  of  the  Arctic  slope. 
Their  fort  was  called  Fort  Enterprise,  and  the  party  obtained 
a  living  chiefly  from  the  game  and  fish  of  the  region.  In  the 
following  summer  the  Franklin  party  descended  the  Copper- 
mine River  to  the  Arctic  Sea.  Here  Hearne's  mistake  of  four 
degrees  in  the  latitude  was  corrected  and  the  latitude  of  the 
mouth  of  the  Coppermine  River  fixed  at  67°  48'  N.  Having 
explored  the  coast  of  the  Arctic  Sea  eastward  for  six  degrees  to 
Cape  Turnagain  and  suffered  great  hardships,  the  survivors  of 
the  party  made  their  return  Journey,  and  reached  Britain  after 
three  years'  absence.  Franklin  was  given  the  rank  of  captain 
and  covered  with  social  and  literary  honours. 

Three  years  after  his  return  to  England,  Captain  Franklin 
and  his  old  companions  went  upon  their  second  journey 
through  Rupert's  Land.  Having  reached  Fort  Chipewyan, 
they  continued  the  journey  northward,  and  the  winter  was 
spent  at  their  erection  known  as  Fort  Franklin,  on  Great  Bear 


EXPLORERS    IN    THE    FAR    NORTH          317 

Lake.  Here  the  party  divided,  one  portion  under  Franklin 
going  down  the  Mackenzie  to  the  sea,  and  coasting  westward  to 
Return  Reef,  hoping  to  reach  Captain  Cook's  icy  cape  of  1778. 
In  this  they  failed.  Dr.  Richardson  led  the  other  party  down 
the  Mackenzie  River  to  its  mouth,  and  then,  going  eastward, 
reached  the  mouth  of  the  Coppermine,  which  he  ascended. 
By  September  both  parties  had  gained  their  rendezvous,  Fort 
Franklin,  and  it  was  found  that  unitedly  they  had  traced  the 
coast  line  of  the  Arctic  Sea  through  thirty-seven  degrees  of 
longitude.  On  the  return  of  the  successful  adventurer,  after 
an  absence  of  two  years,  to  England,  he  was  knighted  and 
received  the  highest  scientific  honours. 

CAPTAIN    JOHN   ROSS  BY   SEA. 

When  the  British  people  become  roused  upon  a  subject, 
failure  seems  but  to  whet  the  public  mind  for  new  enterprise 
and  greater  effort.  The  North-West  Passage  was  now  regarded 
as  a  possibility.  After  the  coast  of  the  Arctic  Ocean  had  been 
traced  by  the  Franklin-Richardson  expedition,  to  reach  this 
shore  by  a  passage  from  Parry's  Fury  and  Hecla  Strait  seemed 
feasible. 

Two  years  after  the  return  of  Franklin  from  his  second 
overland  journey,  an  expedition  was  fitted  out  by  a  wealthy 
distiller,  Sheriff  Felix  Booth,  and  the  ship,  the  Victory,  pro- 
vided by  him,  was  placed  under  the  command  of  Captain  John 
Ross,  who  had  already  gained  reputation  in  exploring  Baffin's 
Bay.  Captain  Ross  was  ably  seconded  in  his  expedition 
by  his  nephew,  Captain  James  Ross.  Going  by  Baffin's  Bay 
and  through  Lancaster  Sound,  Prince  Regent's  Inlet  led  Ross 
southward  between  Cockburn  Island  and  Somerset  North, 
into  an  open  sea  called  after  his  patron,  Gulf  of  Boothia, 
on  the  west  side  of  which  he  named  the  newly-discovered 
land  Boothia  Felix.  He  even  discovered  the  land  to  the  west 
of  Boothia,  calling  it  King  William  Land.  His  ship  became 
embedded  in  the  ice.  After  four  winters  in  the  Arctic 
regions  he  was  rescued  by  a  whaler  in  Barrow  Strait. 

One  of  the  most  notable  events  in  this  voyage  of  Ross's  was 
his  discovery  of  the  North  Magnetic  Pole  on  the  west  side  of 
Boothia  Felix.  During  his  second  winter  (1831)  Captain  Ross 


318    ;.;•"•     THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

determined  to  gratify  his  ambition  to  be  the  discoverer  of  the 
point  where  the  magnetic  needle  stands  vertically,  as  show- 
ing the  centre  of  terrestrial  magnetism  for  the  northern  hemi- 
sphere. 

After  four  or  five  days'  overland  journey,  with  a  trying  head- 
wind from  the  north-west,  he  reached  the  sought-for  point  on 
June  1st.  We  deem  it  only  just  to  state  the  discovery  in  the 
words  of  the  veteran  explorer  himself  : — 

"  The  land  at  this  place  is  very  low  near  the  coast,  but  it 
rises  into  ridges  of  fifty  or  sixty  feet  high  about  a  mile  inland. 
We  could  have  wished  that  a  place  so  important  had  possessed 
more  of  mark  or  note.  It  was  scarcely  censurable  to  regret 
that  there  was  not  a  mountain  to  indicate  a  spot  to  which  so 
much  interest  must  ever  be  attached  ;  and  I  could  even  have 
pardoned  any  one  among  us  who  had  been  so  romantic  or 
absurd  as  to  expect  that  the  magnetic  pole  was  an  object  as 
conspicuous  and  mysterious  as  the  fabled  mountain  of  Sinbad, 
that  it  was  even  a  mountain  of  iron,  or  a  magnet  as  large  as 
Mont  Blanc.  But  Nature  had  here  erected  no  monument  to 
denote  the  spot  which  she  had  chosen  as  the  centre  of  one  of 
her  great  and  dark  powers  ;  and  where  we  could  do  little  our- 
selves towards  this  end,  it  was  our  business  to  submit,  and  to 
be  content  in  noting  in  mathematical  numbers  and  signs,  as 
with  things  of  far  more  importance  in  the  terrestrial  system, 
what  we  could  ill  distinguish  in  any  other  manner. 

' '  The  necessary  observations  were  immediately  commenced, 
and  they  were  continued  throughout  this  and  the  greater  part 
of  the  following  day.  .  .  .  The  amount  of  the  dip,  as  indicated 
by  my  dipping-needle,  was  89°  59',  being  thus  within  one 
minute  of  the  vertical ;  while  the  proximity  at  least  of  this 
pole,  if  not  its  actual  existence  where  we  stood,  was  further 
confirmed  by  the  action,  or  rather  by  the  total  inaction,  of 
several  horizontal  needles  then  in  my  possession.  .  .  .  There 
was  not  one  which  showed  the  slightest  effort  to  move  from 
the  position  in  which  it  was  placed. 

"  As  soon  as  I  had  satisfied  my  own  mind  on  this  subject,  I 
made  known  to  the  party  this  gratifying  result  of  all  our  joint 
labours  ;  and  it  was  then  that,  amidst  mutual  congratulations, 
we  fixed  the  British  flag  on  the  spot,  and  took  possession  of 


EXPLORERS   IN    THE   FAR   NORTH         319 

the  North  Magnetic  Pole  and  its  adjoining  territory,  in  the 
name  of  Great  Britain  and  King  William  the  Fourth.  We  had 
abundance  of  material  for  building  in  the  fragments  of  lime- 
stone that  covered  the  beach  ;  and  we  therefore  erected  a  cairn 
of  some  magnitude,  under  which  we  buried  a  canister  contain- 
ing a  record  of  the  interesting  fact,  only  regretting  that  we  had 
not  the  means  of  constructing  a  pyramid  of  more  importance 
and  of  strength  sufficient  to  withstand  the  assaults  of  time  and 
of  the  Esquimaux.  Had  it  been  a  pyramid  as  large  as  that  of 
Cheops  I  am  not  quite  sure  that  it  would  have  done  more  than 
satisfy  our  ambition  under  the  feelings  of  that  exciting  day. 
The  latitude  of  this  spot  is  70°  5'  17"  and  its  longitude  96° 
46'  45"." 

Thus  much  for  the  magnetic  pole.  This  pole  is  almost 
directly  north  of  the  city  of  Winnipeg,  and  within  less  than 
twenty  degrees  of  it.  One  of  Lady  Franklin's  captains — 
Captain  Kennedy,  who  resided  at  Red  River — elaborated  a 
great  scheme  for  tapping  the  central  supply  of  electricity  of  the 
magnetic  pole,  and  developing  it  from  Winnipeg  as  a  source  of 
power. 

SIR  GEORGE  BACK,  THE  EXPLORER. 

In  the  third  year  of  Captain  Ross's  expedition  his  protracted 
absence  became  a  matter  of  public  discussion  in  Britain.  Dr. 
Richardson,  who  had  been  one  of  Franklin's  followers,  offered 
to  take  charge  of  an  overland  expedition  in  search  of  Ross,  but 
his  proposition  was  not  accepted.  Mr.  Ross,  a  brother  of  Sir 
John  and  father  of  Captain  James  Ross,  was  anxious  to  find 
an  officer  who  would  take  charge  of  a  relief  expedition,  and  the 
British  Government  favoured  the  enterprise.  Captain  George 
Back,  one  of  the  midshipmen  who  had  accompanied  Franklin, 
was  favourably  regarded  for  the  important  position. 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  in  sympathy  with  the 
exploration  of  its  Arctic  possessions  and  gave  every  assistance 
to  the  project.  Nicholas  Garry,  the  Deputy-Governor  of  the 
Company,  ably  supported  it  ;  and  the  British  Government  at 
last  gave  its  consent  to  grant  two  thousand  pounds,  provided 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  would  furnish,  according  to  its 
promise,  the  supplies  and  canoes  free  of  charge,  and  that 


320  THE    HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Captain  Ross's  friends  would  contribute  three  thousand 
pounds. 

Captain  Back  cordially  accepted  the  offer  to  command  the 
expedition,  and  his  orders  from  the  Government  were  to  find 
Captain  Ross,  or  any  survivors  or  survivor  of  his  party  ;  and, 
' '  subordinate  to  this,  to  direct  his  attention  to  mapping  what 
remains  unknown  of  the  coasts  which  he  was  to  visit,  and 
make  such  other  scientific  observations  as  his  leisure  would 
admit/' 

In  1833  Captain  Back  crossed  the  Atlantic,  accompanied 
by  a  surgeon,  Dr.  Richard  King,  and  at  Montreal  obtained  a 
party  of  four  regulars  of  the  Royal  Artillery.  Pushing  on  by 
the  usual  route,  he  reached  Lake  Winnipeg,  and  thence  by 
light  canoe  arrived  at  Fort  Resolution  on  Great  Slave  Lake  in 
August.  He  wintered  at  Fort  Reliance,  near  the  east  end  of 
Great  Slave  Lake,  which  was  established  by  Roderick  McLeod, 
a  Hudson's  Bay  Company  officer,  who  had  received  orders  to 
assist  the  expedition.  Before  leaving  this  point  a  message 
arrived  from  England  that  Captain  Ross  was  safe.  Notwith- 
standing this  news,  in  June  of  the  following  year  Back  and  his 
party  crossed  the  country  to  Artillery  Lake,  and  drew  their 
boats  and  baggage  in  a  most  toilsome  manner  over  the  ice  of 
this  and  three  other  lakes,  till  the  Great  Fish  River  was  reached 
and  its  difficult  descent  begun. 

On  July  30th  the  party  encamped  at  Cape  Beaufort,  a  pro- 
minent point  of  the  inlet  of  the  Arctic  Ocean  into  which  the 
Great  Fish  River  empties.  The  expedition  again  descended  the 
river  and  returned  to  England,  where  it  was  well  received,  and 
Captain  Back  was  knighted  for  his  pluck  and  perseverance. 
An  expedition  under  Back  in  the  next  year,  to  go  by  ship  to 
Wager  Bay  and  then  to  cross  by  portage  the  narrow  strip  of 
land  to  the  Gulf  of  Boothia,  was  a  failure,  and  the  party  with 
difficulty  reached  Britain  again. 

A  HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY  EXPEDITION — DBASE  AND 
SIMPSON. 

Dr.  Richard  King,  who  had  been  Back's  assistant  and 
surgeon,  now  endeavoured  to  organize  an  expedition  to  the 
Arctic  Ocean  by  way  of  Lake  Athabasca  and  through  a  chain 


SIR   JOHN    I  i;  \\KLIN. 


LAD*    FRANKLIN. 


SIR    GEORGE    BACK. 


SIR   JOHN    RICHARDSON. 


SEARCHERS    IN    THE    NORTH. 


[Page  320. 


EXPLORERS    IN    THE   FAR    NORTH          321 

of  lakes  leading  to  the  Great  Fish  River.  This  project  received 
no  backing  from  the  British  Government  or  from  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company.  The  Company  now  undertook  to  carry  out  an 
expedition  of  its  own.  The  reasons  of  this  are  stated  to  have 
been — (1)  The  interest  of  the  British  public  in  the  effort  to 
connect  the  discoveries  of  Captains  Back  and  Ross  ;  (2)  They 
are  said  to  have  desired  a  renewal  of  their  expiring  lease 
for  twenty-one  years  of  the  trade  of  the  Indian  territories  ; 
(3)  The  fact  was  being  pointed  out,  as  in  former  years, 
that  their  charter  required  the  Company  to  carry  on 
exploration. 

In  1836  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  London  decided  to 
carrying  out  the  expedition,  and  gave  instructions  to  Governor 
Simpson  to  organize  and  despatch  it.  At  Norway  House,  at 
the  meeting  of  the  Governor  and  officers  of  that  year,  steps 
were  taken  to  explore  the  Arctic  Coast.  An  experienced 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  officer,  Peter  Warren  Dease,  and 
with  him  an  ardent  young  man,  Thomas  Simpson,  a  relation  of 
the  Governor,  was  placed  in  charge. 

The  party,  after  various  preparations,  including  a  course  of 
mathematics  and  astronomy  received  by  Thomas  Simpson  at 
Red  River,  made  its  departure,  and  Fort  Chipewyan  was 
reached  in  February,  where  the  remainder  of  the  winter  was 
spent.  As  soon  as  navigation  opened,  the  descent  of  the 
Mackenzie  River  was  made  to  the  mouth.  The  party  then 
coasting  westward  on  the  Arctic  Ocean,  passed  Franklin's 
"  Return  Reef,"  reached  Boat  Extreme,  and  Simpson  made  a 
foot  journey  thence  to  Cape  Barrow. 

Having  returned  to  the  mouth  of  the  Mackenzie  River,  the 
Great  Bear  Lake,  where  Fort  Confidence  had  been  erected  by 
the  advance  guard  of  the  party,  was  reached. 

The  winter  was  passed  at  this  point,  and  in  the  following 
spring  the  expedition  descended  the  Copper-mine  River,  and 
coasting  eastward  along  the  Polar  Sea,  reached  Cape  Turnagain 
in  August.  Returning  and  ascending  the  Coppermine  for  a 
distance,  the  party  halted,  and  Simpson  made  a  land  journey 
eastward  to  new  territory  which  he  called  Victoria  Land,  and 
erected  a  pillar  of  stones,  taking  possession  of  the  country, ' '  in 
the  name  of  the  Honourable  Company,  and  for  the  Queen  of 
y 


322  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Great  Britain."  Their  painful  course  was  then  retraced  to 
Fort  Confidence,  where  the  second  winter  was  spent. 

On  the  opening  of  spring,  the  Company  descended  to  the 
coast  to  carry  on  their  work.  Going  eastward,  they,  after  much 
difficulty,  reached  new  ground,  passed  Dease's  Strait,  and 
discovered  Cape  Britannia. 

Taking  two  years  to  return,  Simpson  arrived  at  Fort  Garry, 
and  disappointed  at  not  receiving  further  instructions,  he 
joined  a  freight  party  about  to  cross  the  plains  to  St.  Paul, 
Minnesota.  While  on  the  way  he  was  killed,  either  by  his 
half-breed  companions  or  by  his  own  hand.  His  body  was 
brought  back  to  Fort  Garry,  and  is  buried  at  St.  John's  ceme- 
tery. 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  thus  made  an  earnest  effort  to 
explore  the  coast,  and  through  its  agents,  Dease  and  Simpson, 
may  be  said  to  have  been  reasonably  successful. 

THE    SEARCH   FOR   FRANKLIN. 

After  the  return  of  Sir  John  Franklin  from  his  second  over- 
land expedition  in  Rupert's  Land,  Sir  John  was  given  the 
honourable  position  of  Lieu  tenant -Governor  of  Tasmania,  and 
on  his  coming  again  to  England,  was  asked  by  the  Admiralty 
to  undertake  a  sea  voyage  for  the  purpose  of  finding  his  way 
from  Lancaster  Sound  to  Behring's  Strait. 

Sir  John  accepted  the  trust,  and  his  popularity  led  to  the 
offer  of  numerous  volunteers,  who  were  willing  to  undertake 
the  hazards  of  the  journey.  Two  excellent  vessels,  the  Erebus 
and  Terror,  well  fitted  out  for  the  journey,  were  provided,  and 
his  expedition  started  with  the  most  glowing  hopes  of  success, 
on  May  19th,  1845.  Many  people  in  Britain  were  quite 
convinced  that  the  expectation  of  a  north-west  passage  was 
now  to  be  realized. 

We  know  now  only  too  well  the  barrier  which  lay  in  Frank- 
lin's way.  Almost  directly  north-east  of  the  mouth  of  Fish 
River,  which  Back  and  Simpson  had  both  found,  there  lies 
a  vast  mass  of  ice,  which  can  neither  move  toward  Behring's 
Strait  on  account  of  the  shallow  opening  there,  or  to  Baffin's 
Bay  on  account  of  the  narrow  and  tortuous  winding  of  the 
channels.  This,  called  by  Sir  George  Nares  the  Paleocrystic 


EXPLORERS    IN    THE   FAR    NORTH          323 

Sea,  we  are  now  aware  bars  the  progress  of  any  ship.  Franklin 
had  gone  down  on  the  west  side  of  North  Somerset  and 
Boothia,  and  coining  against  the  vast  barrier  of  the  Paleo- 
crystic  Sea,  had  been  able  to  go  no  further. 

Two  years  after  the  departure  of  the  expedition  from  which 
so  much  was  expected,  there  were  still  no  tidings.  Prepara- 
tions were  made  for  an  expedition  to  rescue  the  adventurers, 
and  in  1848  the  first  party  of  relief  sailed. 

For  the  next  eleven  years  the  energy  and  spirit  and  liberality 
of  the  British  public  were  something  unexampled  in  the  annals 
of  public  sympathy.  Regardless  of  cost  or  hazard,  not  less 
than  fifteen  expeditions  were  sent  out  by  England  and  the 
United  States  on  their  sad  quest.  Lady  Franklin,  with  a 
heroism  and  skill  past  all  praise,  kept  the  eye  of  the  nation 
steadily  on  her  loss,  and  sacrificed  her  private  fortune  in 
the  work  of  rescue.  We  are  not  called  upon  to  give  the 
details  of  these  expeditions,  but  may  refer  to  a  few  notable 
points. 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  at  once  undertook  a  journey 
by  land  in  quest  of  the  unfortunate  navigator.  Dr.  Richard- 
son, who  had  gone  on  Franklin's  first  expedition,  along  with  a 
well-known  Hudson's  Bay  Company  officer,  Dr.  Rae,  scoured 
the  coast  of  the  Arctic  Sea,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Mackenzie 
to  that  of  the  Coppermine  River.  For  two  years  more,  Dr. 
Rae  continued  the  search,  and  in  the  fourth  year  (1851)  this 
facile  traveller,  by  a  long  sledge  journey  in  spring  and 
boat  voyage  in  summer,  examined  the  shores  of  Wollaston 
and  Victoria  Land. 

A  notable  expedition  took  place  in  the  sending  out  by  Lady 
Franklin  herself  of  the  Prince  Albert  schooner,  under  Captain 
Kennedy,  who  afterwards  made  his  home  in  the  Red  River 
settlement.  His  second  in  command  was  Lieutenant  Bellot, 
of  the  French  Navy,  who  was  a  plucky  and  shrewd  explorer, 
and  who,  on  a  long  sledge  journey,  discovered  the  Strait  which 
bears  his  name  between  North  Somerset  and  Boothia. 

The  names  of  McClure,  Austin,  Collinson,  Sir  Edmund 
Belcher,  and  Kellett  stand  out  in  bold  relief  in  the  efforts — 
fruitless  in  this  case — made  to  recover  traces  of  the  unfortunate 
expedition. 


324  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

The  first  to  come  upon  remains  of  the  Franklin  expedi- 
tion was  Dr.  John  Rae,  who,  we  have  seen,  had  thoroughly 
examined  the  coast  along  the  Arctic  Ocean.  The  writer  well 
remembers  meeting  Dr.  Rae  many  years  after  in  the  city  of 
Winnipeg  and  hearing  his  story. 

Rae  was  a  lithe,  active,  enterprising  man.  In  1853,  he 
announced  that  the  drawback  in  former  expeditions  had  been 
the  custom  of  carrying  a  great  stock  of  provisions  and  useless 
impedimenta,  and  so  under  Hudson's  Bay  Company  auspices 
he  undertook  to  go  with  gun  and  fishing  tackle  up  the  west 
coast  of  Hudson  Bay.  This  he  did,  ascended  Chesterfield 
Inlet,  and  wintered  with  eight  men  at  Repulse  Bay. 

In  the  next  season  he  made  a  remarkable  Journey  of  fifty -six 
days,  and  succeeded  in  connecting  the  discoveries  of  Captain 
James  Ross  with  those  of  Dease  and  Simpson,  proving  King 
William  Land  to  be  an  island.  Rae  discovered  on  this  journey 
plate  and  silver  decorations  among  the  Eskimos,  which  they 
admitted  had  belonged  to  the  Franklin  party.  Dr.  Rae  was 
awarded  a  part  of  the  twenty  thousand  pounds  reward  offered 
by  the  Imperial  Government. 

The  British  people  could  not,  however,  be  satisfied  until 
something  more  was  done,  and  Lady  Franklin,  with  marvellous 
self-devotion,  gave  the  last  of  her  available  means  to  add  to 
the  public  subscription  for  the  purchase  and  fitting  out  of  the 
little  yacht  Fox,  which,  under  Captain  Leopold  McClintock, 
sailed  from  Aberdeen  in  1857.  Having  in  less  than  two  years 
reached  Bellot  Strait,  McClintock's  party  was  divided  into 
three  sledging  expeditions.  One  of  them,  under  Captain 
McClintock,  was  very  successful,  obtaining  relics  of  the  lost 
Franklin  and  his  party  and  finding  a  cairn  which  contained  an 
authoritative  record  of  the  fortunes  of  the  company  for  three 
years.  Sir  John  had  died  a  year  before  this  record  was  written. 
Captain  McClintock  was  knighted  for  his  successful  effort  and 
the  worst  was  now  at  last  known. 

The  attempt  of  Sir  John  and  the  efforts  to  find  him  reflect 
the  highest  honour  on  the  British  people.  And  not  only  senti- 
ment, but  reason  was  satisfied.  As  had  been  said,  "  the 
catastrophe  of  Sir  John  Franklin's  expedition  led  to  seven 
thousand  miles  of  coast  line  being  discovered,  and  to  a  vast 


EXPLORERS  IN    THE  FAR  NORTH  325 

extent  of  unknown  country  being  explored,  securing  very  con- 
siderable additions  to  geographical  knowledge.  Much  atten- 
tion was  also  given  to  the  collection  of  information,  and  the 
scientific  results  of  the  various  search  expeditions  were  con- 
siderable." 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

EXPEDITIONS  TO  THE  FRONTIER  OF  THE  FUR  COUNTRY. 

A  disputed  boundary — Sources  of  the  Mississippi — The  fur  traders 
push  southward — Expedition  up  the  Missouri — Lewis  and  Clarke 
meet  Nor' -Westers — Claim  of  United  States  made — Sad  death 
of  Lewis — Lieutenant  Pike's  journey — Pike  meets  fur  traders — 
Cautions  Dakotas — Treaty  with  Chippewas — Violent  death — 
Long  and  Keating  fix  49  deg.  N. — Visit  Fort  Garry — Follow  old 
fur  traders'  route — An  erratic  Italian — Strange  adventures — 
Almost  finds  source — Beltrami  County — Cass  and  Schoolcraft 
fail — Schoolcraft  afterwards  succeeds — Lake  Itasca — Curious  origin 
of  name — The  source  determined. 

THE  Treaty  of  Paris  was  an  example  of  magnanimity  on  the 
part  of  Great  Britain  to  the  United  States,  her  wayward  Trans- 
atlantic child,  who  refused  to  recognize  her  authority.  It  is 
now  clearly  shown  that  Lord  Shelbourne,  the  English  Premier, 
desired  to  promote  good  feeling  between  mother  and  daughter 
as  nations.  Accordingly  the  boundary  line  west  of  Lake 
Superior  gave  over  a  wide  region  where  British  traders  had 
numerous  establishments,  and  where  their  occupation  should 
have  counted  for  possession. 

In  the  treaty  of  amity  and  commerce,  eleven  years  afterward, 
it  was  agreed  that  a  line  drawn  from  Lake  of  the  Woods 
overland  to  the  source  of  Mississippi  should  be  the  boundary. 
But,  alas  !  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi  for  fifty  years  after- 
ward proved  as  difficult  a  problem  as  the  source  of  the  Nile. 
In  the  first  decade  of  this  century  it  was  impossible  to  draw 
the  southern  line  of  Kupert's  Land.  The  United  States 
during  this  period  evinced  some  anxiety  in  regard  to  this 
boundary,  and,  as  we  shall  see,  a  number  of  expeditions  were 
despatched  to  explore  the  country.  The  sources  of  the 
Mississippi  naturally  afforded  much  interest  to  the  Government 

326 


EXPEDITIONS   TO    THE   FUR   COUNTRY    327 

at  Washington,  even  though  the  convention  of  London  of  1818 
had  settled  the  49  deg.  N.  as  the  boundary. 

The  region  west  of  the  Mississippi,  which  was  known  as 
Louisiana,  extended  northward  to  the  British  possessions, 
having  been  transferred  by  Spain  to  the  United  States  in  1803. 
A  number  of  expeditions  to  the  marches  or  boundary  land  claim 
a  short  notice  from  us,  as  being  bound  up  with  the  history  and 
interests  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

LEWIS  AND  CLARKE'S  EXPEDITION. 

Of  these,  a  notable  and  interesting  voyage  was  that  of 
Captains  Meriwether  Lewis  and  William  Clarke,  of  the  United 
States  army.  This  expedition  consisted  of  nearly  fifty  men — 
soldiers,  volunteers,  adventurers,  and  servants.  Being  a 
Government  expedition,  it  was  well  provided  with  stores, 
Indian  presents,  weapons,  and  other  necessary  articles  of  travel. 
Leaving  Wood  River,  near  St.  Louis,  the  party  started  up  the 
Missouri  in  three  boats,  and  were  accompanied  by  two  horses 
along  the  bank  of  the  River  to  bring  them  game  or  to  hunt 
in  case  of  scarcity.  After  many  adventures  the  expedition, 
which  began  its  journey  on  May  14th,  1804,  reached  the 
headquarters  of  the  Mandan  Indians  on  the  Missouri  on 
October  26th. 

The  Mandans,  or,  as  they  have  been  called,  the  White 
Bearded  Sioux,  were  at  this  time  a  large  and  most  interesting 
people.  Less  copper-coloured  than  the  other  Indians,  agri- 
cultural in  habit,  pottery  makers,  and  dwelling  in  houses  partly 
sunk  in  the  earth,  their  trade  was  sought  from  different  direc- 
tions. We  have  seen  already  that  Verendrye  first  reached 
them  ;  that  David  Thompson,  the  astronomer  of  the  North  - 
West  Company,  visited  them  ;  that  Harmon  and  others, 
North-West  traders,  met  them  ;  that  fur  traders  from  the 
Assiniboine  came  to  them  ;  that  even  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany had  penetrated  to  their  borders.  The  Mandans  them- 
selves journeyed  north  to  the  Assiniboine  and  carried  Indian 
corn,  which  they  grew,  to  Rupert's  Land  to  exchange  for 
merchandise.  The  Mandan  trail  can  still  be  pointed  out  in 
Manitoba. 

A  fur  trader,  Hugh  McCracken,  met  Lewis  and  Clarke  at 


328  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

this  point,  and  we  read,  "  That  he  set  out  on  November  1st  on 
his  return  to  the  British  fort  and  factory  on  the  Assiniboine 
River,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  this  place.  He 
took  a  letter  from  Captain  Lewis  to  the  North- West  Company, 
enclosing  a  copy  of  the  passport  granted  by  the  British 
Minister  in  the  United  States/' 

This  shows  the  uncertainty  as  to  the  boundary  line,  the 
leaders  of  the  expedition  having  provided  themselves  with  this 
permission  in  case  of  need. 

In  dealing  with  the  Mandans,  Captain  Lewis  gave  them 
presents,  and  "  told  them  that  they  had  heard  of  the  British 
trader,  Mr.  Laroche,  having  attempted  to  distribute  medals 
and  flags  among  them  ;  but  that  these  emblems  could  not  be 
received  from  any  other  than  the  American  nation,  without 
incurring  the  displeasure  of  their  Great  Father, '  the  President/ 
On  December  1st  the  party  was  visited  by  a  trader,  Henderson, 
who  came  from  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  He  had  been 
about  eight  days  on  his  route  in  a  direction  nearly  south, 
and  brought  with  him  tobacco,  beads,  and  other  merchandise 
to  trade  for  furs,  and  a  few  guns  which  were  to  be  exchanged 
for  horses.  On  December  17th  Hugh  Harvey  and  two  com- 
panions arrived  at  the  camp,  having  come  in  six  days  from 
the  British  establishment  on  the  Assiniboine,  with  a  letter 
from  Mr.  Charles  Chaboillez,  one  of  the  North- West  Company, 
who,  with  much  politeness,  offered  to  render  us  any  service  in 
his  power." 

With  the  expedition  of  Lewis  and  Clarke  we  have 
little  more  to  do.  It  successfully  crossed  from  the 
sources  of  the  Missouri,  over  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the 
Columbia,  descended  it  to  the  mouth,  and  returned  by 
nearly  the  same  route,  reaching  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri 
in  1806. 

The  expedition  of  Lewis  and  Clarke  has  become  the  most 
celebrated  of  the  American  transcontinental  ventures.  Its 
early  presence  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River  gave 
strength  to  the  claim  of  the  United  States  for  that  region ;  it 
was  virtually  a  taking  possession  of  the  whole  country  from 
the  Mississippi  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  ;  it  had  a  picturesqueness 
and  an  interest  that  appealed  to  the  national  mind,  and  the 


EXPEDITIONS    TO    THE   FUR    COUNTRY    329 

melancholy  death  of  Captain  Lewis,  who,  in  1809,  when  the 
American  Government  refused  to  fulfil  its  engagements  with 
him,  blew  out  his  brains,  lends  an  impressiveness  to  what  was 
really  a  great  and  successful  undertaking. 

PIKE'S  EXPEDITION. 

The  source  or  sources  of  the  Mississippi  was,  as  we  have 
seen,  an  important  matter  in  settling  the  boundary  line  between 
the  possessions  of  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States.  The 
matter  having  occupied  the  authorities  at  Washington,  Zebulon 
M.  Pike,  a  lieutenant  of  the  United  States  army,  was  sent  to 
examine  the  country  upon  the  Upper  Mississippi  and  to 
maintain  the  interests  of  the  Government  in  that  quarter. 
Leaving  St.  Louis  on  August  9th,  1805,  he  ascended  the 
"  Father  of  Waters/'  and  reached  Prairie  du  Chien  in  Sep- 
tember. Here  he  was  met  by  the  well-known  free-traders 
who  carried  on  the  fur  trade  in  this  region.  Their  names  were 
Fisher,  Frazer  and  WToods.  These  men  were  in  the  habit  of 
working  largely  in  harmony  with  the  North-West  Company 
traders,  and,  on  account  of  their  British  origin,  were  objects 
of  suspicion  to  the  United  States  authorities.  Pushing  on 
among  the  Indians,  by  the  help  of  French  Canadian  inter- 
preters, he  came  to  Lake  Pepin.  On  the  shores  of  this  lake 
Pike  met  Murdoch  Cameron,  the  principal  British  free-trader 
on  the  upper  Minnesota  River.  Cameron  was  a  shrewd  and 
daring  Scotchman,  noted  for  his  generosity  and  faithfulness. 
He  was  received  with  distinction  by  Pike,  and  the  trader 
as  shown  by  his  grave,  pointed  out  many  years  afterward  on 
the  banks  of  the  Minnesota,  was  in  every  way  worthy  of  the 
attention.  Shortly  after  this,  Pike  passed  near  where  the 
city  of  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  stands  to-day,  the  encampment  of 
J.  B.  Faribault,  a  French  Canadian  free-trader  of  note,  whose 
name  is  now  borne  by  an  important  town  south  of  St.  Paul. 
Pike  held  a  council  with  the  Dakota  Indians,  and  purchased 
from  them  a  considerable  amount  of  land  for  military  purposes, 
for  which  the  Senate  paid  them  the  sum  of  two  thousand 
dollars.  Pike  seems  to  have  cautioned  the  Dakotas  or  Sioux 
to  beware  of  the  influence  of  the  English,  saying,  "  I  think 
the  traders  who  come  from  Canada  are  bad  birds  among  the 


330  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Chippeways,  and  instigate  them  to  make  war  upon  their  red 
brothers,  the  Sioux." 

About  the  end  of  October,  unable  to  proceed  further  up  the 
Mississippi  on  account  of  ice,  Pike  built  a  blockhouse,  which 
he  enclosed  with  pickets,  and  there  spent  the  most  severe  part 
of  the  winter. 

At  his  post  early  in  December  he  was  visited  by  Robert 
Dickson,  a  British  fur  trader,  described  by  Neill  as  "  a  red- 
haired  Scotchman,  of  strong  intellect,  good  family,  and  ardent 
attachment  to  the  crown  of  England,  who  was  at  the  head 
of  the  Indian  trade  in  Minnesota."  Pike  himself  speaks  of 
Dickson  as  a  "  gentleman  of  general  commercial  knowledge 
and  of  open,  frank  manners."  Explanations  took  place 
between  the  Government  agent  and  the  trader  as  to  the 
excessive  use  of  spirits  by  the  Indians. 

On  December  10th  Pike  started  on  a  journey  northward  in 
sleds,  taking  a  canoe  with  him  for  use  so  soon  as  the  river 
should  open.  When  Pike  arrived  near  Red  Cedar  Lake,  he 
was  met  by  four  Chippewa  Indians,  a  Frenchman,  and  one 
of  the  North-West  traders,  named  Grant.  Going  with  Grant 
to  his  establishment  on  the  shores  of  the  lake,  Pike  tells  us, 
"  When  we  came  in  sight  of  the  house  I  observed  the  flag  of 
Great  Britain  flying.  I  felt  indignant,  and  cannot  say  what 
my  feelings  would  have  excited  me  to  had  Grant  not  told  me 
that  it  belonged  to  the  Indians." 

On  February  1st  Pike  reached  Leech  Lake,  which  he  con- 
sidered to  be  the  main  source  of  the  Mississippi.  He  crossed 
the  lake  twelve  miles  to  the  establishment  of  the  North-West 
Company,  which  was  in  charge  of  a  well-known  North-West 
trader,  Hugh  McGillies.  While  he  was  treated  with  civility, 
it  is  plain  from  his  cautions  to  McGillies  and  his  bearing  to 
him,  that  he  was  jealous  of  the  influence  which  British  traders 
were  then  exercising  in  Minnesota. 

Having  made  a  treaty  with  the  Chippewa  Indians  of  Red 
Lake,  Pike's  work  was  largely  accomplished,  and  in  April  he 
departed  from  this  region,  where  he  had  shown  great  energy 
and  tact,  to  give  in  his  report  after  a  voyage  of  some  nine 
months. 

A  most  melancholy  interest  attaches  to  this  gentlemanly 


EXPEDITIONS    TO    THE   FUR    COUNTRY    331 

and  much -respected  officer  of  the  United  States.  In  the  war 
of  1812-15,  Pike,  then  made  a  general,  was  killed  at  the  taking 
of  York  (Toronto),  in  Upper  Canada,  by  the  explosion  of  the 
magazine  of  the  fort  evacuated  by  General  Sheaffe.  Pike,  as 
leader  on  this  Mississippi  expedition,  as  commanding  an 
expedition  on  the  Rio  Grande,  where  he  was  captured  by  the 
Spaniards,  and  as  a  brave  soldier,  has  handed  down  an 
honourable  name  and  fame. 

LONG    AND    KEATING. 

The  successful  journey  of  Lewis  and  Clarke,  as  well  as  the 
somewhat  useful  expedition  of  Lieutenant  Pike,  led  the  United 
States  Government  to  send  in  1823  an  expedition  to  the 
northern  boundary  line  49  deg.  N.,  which  had  been  settled  a  few 
years  before.  In  charge  of  this  was  Major  Stephen  H.  Long. 
He  was  accompanied  by  a  scientific  corps  consisting  of  Thomas 
Say,  zoologist  and  antiquary  ;  Samuel  Seymour,  landscape 
painter  and  designer  ;  and  William  H.  Keating,  mineralogist 
and  geologist,  who  also  acted  as  historian  of  the  expedition. 

Leaving  Philadelphia  in  April,  the  company  passed  overland 
to  Prairie  du  Chien  on  the  Mississippi,  ascended  this  river,  and 
going  up  its  branch,  the  Minnesota,  reached  the  town  of 
Mendota  in  the  month  of  July.  A  well-known  French  half- 
breed,  Joseph  Renville,  acted  as  guide,  and  several  others 
joined  the  party  at  this  point.  After  journeying  up  the 
Minnesota  River,  partly  by  canoe,  and  partly  by  the  use  of 
horses,  they  reached  in  thirteen  days  Big  Stone  Lake,  which  is 
considered  to  be  the  source  of  the  river.  Following  up  the 
bed  of  a  dried-up  stream  for  three  miles,  they  found  Lake 
Traverse,  the  source  of  the  Red  River,  and  reached  Pembina 
Village,  a  collection  of  fifty  or  sixty  log  huts  inhabited  by  half- 
breeds,  numbering  about  three  hundred  and  fifty.  We  have 
already  seen  how  the  North-West  and  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
panies had  posts  at  this  place,  and  that  it  had  been  visited 
regularly  by  the  Selkirk  settlers  as  being  in  proximity  to  the 
open  plains  where  buffalo  could  be  obtained.  On  the  day  after 
Long's  arrival  he  saw  the  return  of  the  buffalo  hunters  from 
the  chase.  The  procession  consisted  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen 
carts,  each  loaded  with  about  eight  hundred  pounds  of  the 


332  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

pressed  buffalo  meat.  There  were  three  hundred  persons, 
including  the  women.  The  number  of  horses  was  about  two 
hundred.  Twenty  hunters,  mounted  on  their  best  steeds, 
rode  abreast,  giving  a  salute  as  they  passed  the  encampment 
of  the  expedition. 

One  of  Major  Long's  objects  in  making  his  journey  was  to 
ascertain  the  point  where  the  parallel  of  49  deg.  N.  crossed  the 
Red  River.  For  four  days  observations  were  taken  and  a  flag- 
staff planted  a  short  distance  south  of  the  49th  parallel.  The 
space  to  the  boundary  line  was  measured  off,  and  an  oak 
post  fixed  on  it,  having  on  the  north  side  the  letters  G.  B., 
and  on  the  south  side  U.  S.  This  post  was  kept  up  and  was 
seen  by  the  writer  in  1871.  In  1872,  a  joint  expedition  of 
British  and  American  engineers  took  observations  and  found 
Long's  point  virtually  correct.  They  surveyed  the  line  of 
49  deg.  eastward  to  Lake  of  the  Woods  and  westward  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  Posts  were  erected  at  short  distances  along 
the  boundary  line,  many  of  them  of  iron,  with  the  words  on 
them,  "  Convention  of  London,  1818." 

His  work  at  Pembina  having  been  accomplished,  Major  Long 
gave  up,  on  account  of  the  low  country  to  be  passed,  the 
thought  of  following  the  boundary  line  eastward  to  the  Lake  of 
the  Woods.  He  sold  his  horses  and  took  canoes  down  the 
river  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  at  Fort  Garry,  where  he 
was  much  interested  in  the  northern  civilization  as  well  as  in 
the  settlers  who  had  Fort  Douglas  as  their  centre. 

It  was  August  17th  when  Long's  expedition  left  Fort 
Douglas  and  went  down  the  Red  River.  It  took  but  two  days 
to  reach  the  mouth  of  the  river  and  cross  Lake  Winnipeg  to 
Fort  Alexander  at  the  mouth  of  the  Winnipeg  River.  Six  days 
more  brought  the  swift  canoe-men  up  the  river  to  Lake  of  the 
Woods.  At  the  falls  of  Rainy  River  was  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  establishment,  then  under  the  charge  of  fur  trader 
McGillivray.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  was  the  fort  of 
the  American  Fur  Company.  Following  the  old  route,  they 
reached  Grand  Portage,  September  12th,  and  thence  the 
expedition  returned  to  the  East.  Major  Long's  expedition  was 
a  well-conducted  and  successful  enterprise.  Its  members 
were  of  the  highest  respectability,  and  the  two  volumes  written 


EXPEDITIONS    TO    THE   FUR   COUNTRY    333 

by  Secretary  Keating  have  the  charm  of  real  adventure  about 
them. 

BELTRAMI'S   DASH. 

When  Major  Long  was  leaving  Fort  Snelling,  on  the  Missis- 
sippi, to  go  upon  the  expedition  we  have  just  described, 
an  erratic  but  energetic  and  clever  Italian,  named  J.  C. 
Beltrami,  asked  to  be  allowed  to  accompany  him.  This  aspir- 
ing but  wayward  man  has  left  us  a  book,  consisting  of  letters 
addressed  to  Madame  la  Comtesse  Compagoni,  a  lady  of  rank 
in  Florence,  which  is  very  interesting.  On  starting  he  wrote, 
"  My  first  intention,  that  of  going  in  search  of  the  real  source 
of  the  Mississippi,  was  always  before  my  eyes." 

Beltrami,  while  clever,  seems  to  have  been  a  man  of  in- 
sufferable conceit.  On  the  journey  to  Big  Stone  Lake  and 
thence  along  the  river,  in  the  buffalo  hunts,  in  conferences  with 
the  Sioux,  the  Italian  adventurer  awakened  the  resentment  of 
the  commander  of  the  expedition,  who  refused  to  allow  him  to 
accompany  his  party  further.  This  proved  rather  favourable 
to  the  purpose  of  Beltrami,  who,  with  a  half-breed  guide  and 
Chippewa  Indians,  started  to  go  eastward,  having  a  mule  and  a 
dog  train  as  means  of  transport.  After  a  few  days'  journey  the 
guide  left  him,  returning  with  the  mule  and  dog  train  to 
Pembina.  Next  his  Indian  guide  deserted  him,  fearing  the 
Sioux,  and  Beltrami  was  left  to  make  his  way  in  a  canoe  up 
the  river  to  Red  Lake.  Inexperienced  in  the  management  of  a 
birch  bark  canoe,  Beltrami  was  upset,  but  he  at  length  pro- 
ceeded along  the  bank  and  shallows  of  the  river,  dragging  the 
canoe  with  a  tow  line  after  him,  and  arrived  in  miserable  plight 
at  Red  Lake. 

Here  he  engaged  a  guide  and  interpreter,  and  writes  that  he 
went  "  where  no  white  man  had  previously  travelled."  He 
was  now  on  the  highway  to  renown.  He  was  taken  from  point 
to  point  on  the  many  lakes  of  Northern  Minnesota,  and  affixed 
names  to  them.  On  August  20th,  1823,  he  went  over  several 
portages,  led  by  his  guide  to  Turtle  Lake,  which  was  to  him  a 
source  of  wonder,  as  he  saw  it  from  the  flow  of  waters  south 
to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  north  to  the  Frozen  Sea,  east  to  the 
Atlantic,  and  west  toward  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

His  own  words  are  :   "A  vast  platform  crosses  this  distin- 


334  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

guished  supreme  elevation,  and,  what  is  more  astonishing,  in 
the  midst  of  it  rises  a  lake.  How  is  this  lake  formed  ?  Whence 
do  its  waters  proceed  ?  This  lake  has  no  issue  !  And  my 
eyes,  which  are  not  deficient  in  sharpness,  cannot  discover 
in  the  whole  extent  of  the  clearest  and  widest  horizon  any  land 
which  rises  above  it.  All  places  around  it  are,  on  the  contrary, 
considerably  lower." 

Beltrami  then  went  to  examine  the  surrounding  country, 
and  found  the  lake,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Lake  Julia, 
to  be  bottomless.  This  lake  he  pronounces  to  be  the  source  of 
the  Mississippi  River.  This  opinion  was  published  abroad  and 
accepted  by  some,  but  later  explorations  proved  him  to  be 
wrong.  A  small  lake  to  the  south-west,  afterwards  found  to 
be  the  true  source,  was  described  to  him  by  his  guide  as  Lac  La 
Biche,  and  he  placed  this  on  his  chart  as  "  Doe  Lake/'  the  west 
source  of  the  Mississippi.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  Lake  Julia 
was  the  same  lake  surveyed  twenty-five  years  before  by 
astronomer  Thompson. 

After  further  explorations,  Beltrami  returned  to  Fort 
Snelling,  near  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  being  clothed  in  Indian  gar- 
ments, with  a  piece  of  bark  for  a  hat. 

The  intrepid  explorer  found  his  way  to  New  Orleans,  where 
he  published  "  La  Decouverte  des  Sources  du  Mississippi." 
Though  the  work  was  criticized  with  some  severity,  yet  Bel- 
trami, on  his  arrival  at  London  in  1827,  published  "  A  Pil- 
grimage in  Europe  and  America  "  in  two  volumes,  which 
are  the  source  of  our  information.  The  county  in  Minnesota, 
which  includes  both  Julia  and  Doe  Lakes,  is  appropriately 
called  Beltrami  County. 

CASS  AND   SCHOOLCRAFT. 

Lewis  Cass,  of  New  Hampshire  was  appointed  Governor  of 
Michigan  in  1813.  Six  years  after  this  he  addressed  the 
Secretary  of  War  in  Washington,  proposing  an  expedition  to 
and  through  Lake  Superior,  and  to  the  sources  of  the  Missis- 
sippi. It  was  planned  for  an  examination  of  the  principal 
features  of  the  North- West  tributary  to  Lake  Superior  and  the 
Mississippi  River.  This  was  sanctioned  in  1820,  and  the 
expedition  embarked  in  May  of  that  year  at  Detroit,  Michigan, 


EXPEDITIONS    TO    THE   FUR   COUNTRY    335 

Henry  Schoolcraft  being  mineralogist,  and  Captain  D.  B. 
Douglas  topographer  and  astronomer. 

The  expedition,  after  much  contrary  weather,  reached  Sault 
Ste.  Marie,  and  the  Governor,  after  much  difficulty,  here 
negotiated  a  treaty  with  the  Indians.  Going  by  way  of  the 
Fond  du  Lac,  the  party  entered  the  St.  Louis  River,  and  made 
a  tiresome  portage  to  Sandy  Lake  station.  This  fur-trading 
post  the  party  left  in  July,  and  ascended  the  Upper  Mississippi 
to  the  Upper  Cedar  Lake,  the  name  of  which  was  changed  to 
Lake  Cassina,  and  afterwards  Cass  Lake.  From  the  Indians 
Governor  Cass  learned  that  Lac  La  Biche — some  fifty  miles 
further  on — was  the  true  source  of  the  river,  but  he  was 
deterred  by  their  accounts  of  the  lowness  of  the  water  and 
the  fierceness  of  the  current  from  attempting  the  journey  any 
further.  The  expedition  ingloriously  retired  from  the  project, 
going  down  to  St.  Anthony  Falls,  ascending  the  Wisconsin 
River,  and  thence  down  Fox  River.  The  Governor  himself  in 
September  arrived  in  Detroit,  having  crossed  the  Southern 
Peninsula  of  Michigan  on  horseback. 

Hon.  J.  W.  Brown  says  :  "  When  Governor  Cass  abandoned 
his  purpose  to  ascend  the  Mississippi  to  its  source,  he  was 
within  an  easy  distance,  comparatively  speaking,  of  the  goal 
sought  for.  Less  timidity  had  often  been  displayed  in  canoe 
voyages,  even  in  the  face  of  low  water,  and  an  O-z-a-win-dib  or 
a  Keg-wed-zis-sag,  Indian  guides,  would  have  easily  won  the 
battle  of  the  day  for  Governor  Cass/' 

SCHOOLCRAFT  AT  LENGTH  SUCCEEDS. 

Henry  Rowe  Schoolcraft,  of  good  family,  was  born  in  New 
York  State,  and  was  educated  in  that  State  and  in  Vermont. 
His  first  expedition  was  in  company  with  De  Witt  Clinton  in  a 
journey  to  Missouri  and  Arkansas.  On  his  return  he  published 
two  treatises  which  gave  him  some  reputation  as  an  explorer 
and  scientist.  We  have  already  spoken  of  the  part  taken  by 
him  in  the  expedition  of  Governor  Cass.  He  received  after 
this  the  appointment  of  "  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  " 
at  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  and  to  this  we  are  indebted  for  the  treasury 
of  Indian  lore  published  in  four  large  quarto  volumes,  from 
which  Longfellow  obtained  his  tale  of  "  Hiawatha." 


336  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY    COMPANY 

In  1830  Schoolcraft  received  orders  from  Washington, 
ostensibly  for  conference  with  the  Indians,  but  in  reality 
to  determine  the  source  of  the  Mississippi.  The  Rev.  W.  T. 
Boutwell,  representing  a  Board  of  Missions,  accompanied  the 
expedition. 

Lac  La  Biche  was  already  known  to  exist,  and  to  this 
Schoolcraft  pointed  his  expedition.  On  their  journey  outward 
Schoolcraft  suddenly  one  day  asked  Boutwell  the  Greek  and 
Latin  names  for  the  headwaters  or  true  source  of  a  river.  Mr. 
Boutwell  could  not  recall  the  Greek,  but  gave  the  two  Latin 
words — veritas  (truth)  and  caput  (head).  These  were  written 
on  a  slip  of  paper,  and  Mr.  Schoolcraft  struck  out  the  first  and 
last  three  letters,  and  announced  to  Boutwell  that  "  Itasca 
shall  be  the  name."  It  is  true  that  Schoolcraft  wrote  a  stanza 
in  which  he  says,  "  By  fair  Itasca  shed/'  seemingly  referring  to 
an  Indian  maiden.  Boutwell,  however,  always  maintained  his 
story  of  the  name,  and  this  is  supported  by  the  fact  that  the 
word  was  never  heard  in  the  Ojibeway  mythology. 

The  party  followed  the  same  route  as  that  taken  by  Gov- 
ernor Cass  on  his  journey,  reaching  Cass  Lake  on  July  10th, 
1832.  Taking  the  advice  of  Ozawinder,  a  Chippewa  Indian, 
they  followed  up  their  journey  in  birch  bark  canoes,  went 
up  the  smaller  fork  of  the  Mississippi,  and  then  by  portage 
reached  the  eastern  extremity  of  La  Biche  or  Itasca  Lake. 

The  party  landed  on  the  island  in  the  lake  which  has  since 
been  known  as  Schoolcraft  Island,  and  here  raised  their  flag. 
After  exploring  the  shores  of  the  lake,  he  returned  to  Cass 
Lake,  and,  full  of  pride  of  his  discovery,  journeyed  home  to 
Sault  Ste.  Marie.  On  the  map  drawn  to  illustrate  School - 
craft's  inland  journey  occurs,  beside  the  lake  of  his  discovery, 
the  legend, ' '  Itasca  Lake,  the  source  of  the  Mississippi  River  ; 
length  from  Gulf  of  Mexico,  3,160  miles;  elevation,  1,500  ft. 
Reached  July  13th,  1832." 


FORT    Kl)M"NTu\.    ii\     THK     NoKTH    S  \SK  \T<   II  K\VA  N. 


JASPER    HOUSE,    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS. 


[Paye  336. 


CHAPTER    XXXIV. 

FAMOUS   JOURNEYS   IN    RUPERT'S    LAND. 

Fascination  of  an  unknown  land — Adventure,  science,  or  gain — 
Lieutenant  Lefroy's  magnetic  survey — Hudson's  Bay  Company 
assists — Winters  at  Fort  Chipewyan — First  scientific  visit  to 
Peace  River — Notes  lost — Not  "  gratuitous  canoe  conveyance  " 
— Captain  Palliser  and  Lieutenant  Hector — Journey  through 
Rupert's  Land — Rocky  Mountain  passes — On  to  the  coast — A 
successful  expedition — Hind  and  Dawson — To  spy  out  the  land 
for  Canada — The  fertile  belt — Hind's  description  good — Milton 
and  Cheadle — Winter  on  the  Saskatchewan — Reach  Pacific  Ocean 
in  a  pitiable  condition — Captain  Butler — The  horse  Blackie  and 
dog  "  Cerf  Vola  " — Fleming  and  Grant — "  Ocean  to  ocean  " — 
"  Land  fitted  for  a  healthy  and  hardy  race  " — Waggon  road  and 
railway. 

THE  vast  area  of  Rupert's  Land  and  the  adjoining  Indian  terri- 
tories have  always  had  a  fascination  for  the  British  imagina- 
tion ;  and  not  alone  its  wide  extent,  but  its  being  a  fur  traders' 
paradise,  and  in  consequence  largely  a  "  terra  incognita,"  has 
led  adventurous  spirits  to  desire  to  explore  it. 

Just  as  Sir  John  Mandeville's  expedition  to  the  unknown 
regions  of  Asia  in  the  fourteenth  century  has  appealed  to  the 
hardy  and  brave  sons  of  Britain  from  that  early  day  ;  and  in 
later  times  the  famous  ride  of  Colonel  Burnaby  to  Khiva  in  our 
own  generation  has  led  Central  Asia  to  be  viewed  as  a  land 
of  mystery  ;  so  the  plains  of  Rupert's  Land,  with  the  reputed 
Chinese  wall  thrown  around  them  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany's monopoly,  have  been  a  favourite  resort  for  the  traveller, 
the  mighty  hunter,  and  the  scientist. 

It  is  true  no  succeeding  records  of  adventure  can  have  the 
interest  for  us  that  gathers  around  those  of  the  intrepid  Veren- 
drye,  the  mysterious  Hearne,  or  the  heroic  Alexander  Macken- 
zie, whose  journeys  we  have  already  described,  yet  many  daring 

Z  337 


338  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

adventurers  who  have  gone  on  scientific  or  exploratory  expedi- 
tions, or  who  have  travelled  the  wide  expanse  for  sport  or  for 
mere  curiosity,  may  claim  our  attention. 

LEFROY 's  MAGNETIC  SURVEY. 

The  discovery  of  the  magnetic  pole  by  Sir  John  Ross,  and 
the  continued  interest  in  the  problems  connected  with  the 
Arctic  Sea,  the  romance  of  the  North  land,  and  the  dream  of  a 
North-West  Passage,  led  to  the  desire  to  have  a  scientific  survey 
of  the  wide  expanse  of  Rupert's  Land.  The  matter  was  brought 
to  the  notice  of  the  Royal  Society  by  Major,  afterwards 
General  Sir  Edward  Sabine,  a  noted  student  of  magnetism. 
Sir  John  Herschell,  the  leading  light  on  the  subject  of  physics, 
succeeded  in  inducing  the  Society  to  pronounce  a  favour- 
able opinion  on  the  project,  and  the  strong  influence  of 
the  Royal  Society,  under  the  presidency  of  the  Marquis  of 
Northampton,  induced  the  Lords  of  the  Treasury  to  meet  the 
estimated  expenses,  nine  hundred  and  ten  pounds,  with  the 
understanding  that,  as  stated  by  the  President,  gratuitous 
canoe  conveyance  would  be  provided  by  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  in  the  territories  belonging  to  them. 

Lieutenant,  afterwards  General  Sir  Henry  Lefroy,  a  young 
artillery  officer,  was  selected  to  go  upon  the  journey.  A  circu- 
lar letter  was  sent  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  posts  by 
Governor  Simpson,  directing  that  every  assistance  should  be 
given  to  the  survey.  Lefroy,  having  wintered  in  Montreal, 
was  given  a  passage  on  May  1st,  1842,  on  the  canoes  for  the 
North-West.  Passing  up  the  Ottawa  and  along  the  fur  traders' 
route,  he  soon  reached  Sault  Ste.  Marie  and  Fort  William  ; 
magnetic  observations,  accurate  observations  of  latitude  and 
longitude  being  made  at  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  posts 
along  the  route.  Kakabeka  Falls  and  the  various  points  along 
the  Kaministiquia  route  were  examined,  and  exchanging  the 
"  canot  de  maitre  "  for  the  "  canot  de  Nord,"  by  way  of  Lake 
of  the  Woods  and  Lake  Winnipeg,  the  observer  arrived  at  Fort 
Garry  on  June  29th,  having  found  Sir  George  Simpson  at 
Lower  Fort  Garry. 

After  a  close  examination  of  the  Red  River  Valley  and  some 
geological  observations  on  the  west  side  of  Lake  Winnipeg, 


FAMOUS  JOURNEYS  IN  RUPERTS  LAND    339 

Lefroy  made  his  way  to  Norway  House,  and  then  by  the  water- 
courses, four  hundred  miles,  to  York  Factory.  Having  done 
good  work  on  the  Bay,  he  made  the  return  journey  to  Norway 
House,  and  on  August  22nd,  Cumberland  House  on  the  Saskat- 
chewan was  gained.  Here  he  adopted  the  latitude  and  longi- 
tude taken  by  Franklin's  two  land  expeditions,  and  here  took 
seven  independent  observations  of  variation  and  dip  of  the 
magnetic  needle. 

Now  striking  energetically  northward,  and  stopping  long 
enough  at  the  posts  to  take  the  necessary  observations,  the 
explorer  arrived  at  Fort  Chipewyan  on  September  23rd.  It 
was  twelve  years  since  the  dwellers  on  Lake  Athabasca  had 
been  visited  by  any  traveller  from  the  south,  and  Lefroy 's 
voyageurs,  as  they  completed  their  three  thousand  miles  of 
journey,  decked  out  in  their  best  apparel,  made  the  echoes  of 
the  lake  resound  with  their  gay  chansons.  Lefroy  wintered  in 
the  fort,  where  the  winter  months  were  enjoyed  in  the  well- 
selected  library  of  the  Company  and  the  new  experiences  of  the 
fur  trader's  life,  while  his  voyageurs  went  away  to  support 
themselves  at  a  fishing  station  on  the  lake. 

The  summer  of  1843  was  spent  in  a  round  of  thirteen 
hundred  and  forty  miles,  going  from  Lake  Athabasca,  up  the 
Peace  River  to  Fort  Dunvegan,  then  by  way  of  Lower  Slave 
Lake  to  Edmonton,  and  down  the  Saskatchewan  to  Cumber- 
land. Lefroy  claims  that  no  scientific  traveller  had  visited 
the  Peace  River  since  the  time  of  Alexander  Mackenzie,  fifty- 
five  years  before.  Unfortunately,  Lefroy 's  notes  of  this 
journey  and  some  of  his  best  observations  were  lost  in  his  re- 
turn through  the  United  States,  and  could  not  be  replaced. 

In  March,  1844,  Lieutenant  Lefroy  left  Lake  Athabasca,  and 
travelled  on  snow  shoes  to  Fort  Resolution  on  Great  Slave 
Lake,  and  thence  to  Fort  Simpson,  four  hundred  and  fifty 
miles,  having  his  instruments  for  observation  borne  on  dog 
sleds.  This  journey  was  made  in  nineteen  days.  Waiting  at 
the  Fort  till  May,  he  accomplished  the  descent  of  the  Mackenzie 
River  after  the  breaking  up  of  the  ice,  and  reached  Fort  Good 
Hope.  The  return  journey  to  Fort  Resolution  was  made  at  a 
very  rapid  rate,  and  the  route  thence  to  Lake  Athabasca  was 
followed.  The  diary  ends  June  30th,  1844. 


340  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

At  the  close  of  the  expedition  some  misunderstanding  arose 
as  to  the  settlement  of  the  accounts.  The  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany had  promised  to  give  "  gratuitous  canoe  conveyance/' 
The  original  plan  of  the  journey  was,  however,  much  changed, 
and  Lieutenant  Lefroy  was  a  much  greater  expense  to  the 
Company  than  had  been  expected.  A  bill  of  upwards  of  twelve 
hundred  pounds  was  rendered  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
to  the  Royal  Society.  After  certain  explanations  and  negotia- 
tions a  compromise  of  eight  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  was 
agreed  on,  and  this  was  paid  by  the  Treasury  Department  to 
the  Company. 

The  work  done  by  Lieutenant  Lefroy  was  of  the  most 
accurate  and  valuable  kind.  His  name  is  remembered  as  that 
of  one  of  the  most  trustworthy  of  the  explorers  of  the  plains  of 
Rupert's  Land  and  the  North,  and  is  commemorated  by  Fort 
Lefroy  in  the  Rocky  Mountains.  It  is  true  his  evidence, 
recorded  in  the  Blue  Book  of  1857,  was  somewhat  disappoint- 
ing, but  his  errors  were  those  of  judgment,  not  of  prejudice  or 
intention. 

PALLISER   AND   HECTOR. 

The  approach  of  the  time  when  the  twenty-one  years'  lease 
of  the  Indian  territories  granted  by  the  Imperial  Parliament  to 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  drawing  near  a  close  in  1857, 
when  the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  met  in  Feb- 
ruary of  this  year  to  consider  the  matter.  A  vast  mass  of 
evidence  was  taken,  and  the  consideration  of  the  Blue  Book 
containing  this  will  afford  us  material  for  a  very  interesting 
chapter.  The  interest  in  the  matter,  and  the  necessity  for 
obtaining  expert  information,  led  the  Imperial  Government  to 
organize  an  expedition  under  Captain  John  Palliser,  R.N.A., 
of  the  Royal  Engineers.  With  Captain  Palliser,  who  was  to 
go  up  the  Canadian  lakes  to  the  interior,  was  associated 
Lieutenant  Blakiston,  R.N.,  who  received  orders  to  proceed  by 
ship  to  York  Factory  and  meet  the  main  expedition  at  some 
point  in  Rupert's  Land.  The  geologist  of  the  expedition  was 
James  Hector,  M.D.  (Edin.).  J.  W.  Sullivan  was  secretary  and 
M.  E.  Bourgeau,  botanist. 

After  the  usual  incidents  of  an  ocean  voyage,  some  difficulty 


FAMOUS  JOURNEYS  IN  RUPERTS  LAND    341 

with  the  Customs  authorities  in  New  York  arose  as  to  the  entry 
of  astronomical  instruments,  which  was  happily  overcome, 
and  after  a  long  journey  by  way  of  Detroit,  Sault  Ste.  Marie 
was  reached,  where  Palliser  found  two  birch  bark  canoes  and 
sixteen  voyageurs  awaiting  him,  as  provided  by  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company.  Sir  George  Simpson  had  lately  passed  this 
point.  Journeying  along  the  fur  traders'  route,  the  explorers 
found  themselves  expected  at  Fort  Frances,  on  Rainy 
River. 

Here  a  deputation  of  Indians  waited  upon  them,  and  the  old 
chief  discoursed  thus  :  "  I  do  not  ask  for  presents,  although  I 
am  poor  and  my  people  are  hungry,  but  I  know  you  have 
come  straight  from  the  Great  Country,  and  we  know  that  no 
men  from  that  country  ever  came  to  us  and  lied.  I  want  you 
to  declare  to  us  truthfully  what  the  Great  Queen  of  your 
country  intends  to  do  to  us  when  she  will  take  the  country 
from  the  fur  company's  people.  All  around  me  I  see  the 
smoke  of  the  white  men  to  rise.  The  '  Long  Knives  '  (the 
Americans)  are  trading  with  our  neighbours  for  their  lands  and 
they  are  cheating  them  and  deceiving  them.  Now,  we  will 
not  sell  nor  part  with  our  lands." 

Having  reached  Fort  Garry,  Captain  Palliser  divided  his 
party,  sending  one  section  west,  and  himself  going  south  to  the 
boundary  line  with  the  other.  Going  west  from  Pembina, 
Palliser  reached  the  French  half-breed  settlement  of  St.  Joseph 
(St.  Jo.),  and  some  days  afterwards  Turtle  Mountain.  Thence 
he  hurried  across  country  to  Fort  Ellice  to  meet  the  other 
portion  of  his  expedition. 

While  the  tired  horses  rested  here  he  made  an  excursion  of 
a  notable  kind  to  the  South- West.  This  was  to  the  "  Roches 
Percees  "  on  the  Souris  River.  This  is  a  famous  spot,  noted 
for  the  presence  of  Tertiary  sandstone  exposures,  which  have 
weathered  into  the  most  fantastic  shapes.  It  is  a  sacred  spot  of 
the  Indians.  Here,  as  at  the  "  Red  Pipestone  Quarry,"  de- 
scribed by  Longfellow,  and  not  more  than  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  distant  from  it,  Sioux,  Assiniboines,  and  Crees  meet 
in  peace.  Though  war  may  prevail  elsewhere,  this  spot  is  by 
mutual  agreement  kept  as  neutral.  At  this  point  Palliser 
saw  a  great  camp  of  Assiniboines. 


342  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Returning  from  this  side  excursion,  the  Captain  resumed  his 
command,  and  having  obtained  McKay,  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  officer  at  Fort  Ellice,  with  Governor  Christie's 
permission,  set  off  by  way  of  Qu'Appelle  Lakes  for  the  elbow 
of  the  Saskatchewan. 

On  the  South  Saskatchewan  Palliser  came  to  the  "  heart  of 
the  buffalo  country."  The  whole  region  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach  was  covered  with  the  buffalo  in  bands  varying 
from  hundreds  to  thousands.  So  vast  were  the  herds,  that  he 
began  to  have  serious  apprehensions  for  his  horses,  as  "  the 
grass  was  eaten  to  the  earth,  as  if  the  place  had  been  devas- 
tated by  locusts." 

Crossing  the  Saskatchewan  the  explorers  went  northward  to 
Fort  Carlton  on  the  north  branch,  where  the  party  wintered 
while  Captain  Palliser  returned  to  Canada,  paying  651.  to  a 
Red  River  trader  to  drive  him  five  hundred  and  twenty  miles 
from  Fort  Garry  to  Crow  Wing,  the  nearest  Minnesota  settle- 
ment. Palliser's  horse,  for  which  he  had  bargained,  was 
killed  at  Pembina,  and  he  walked  the  four  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  of  the  journey,  which  was  made  with  painful  slowness 
by  the  struggling  horses  and  sleds  of  the  traders. 

In  June  of  the  following  year  Palliser  left  Fort  Carlton, 
part  of  his  command  going  to  the  Red  Deer  River,  the  other 
part  to  visit  Fort  Pitt  and  Edmonton  House.  From  Edmon- 
ton the  explorer  reports  that  during  the  summer,  his  men  had 
succeeded  in  finding  a  pass  through  the  Rocky  Mountains,  one 
not  only  practicable  for  horses,  but  which,  with  but  little 
expense,  could  be  rendered  available  for  carts  also. 

He  also  states  the  passes  discovered  by  him  to  be  : — 

(1)  Kananaskis  Pass  and  Vermilion  Pass  ; 

(2)  Lake  Pass  and  Beaver  Foot  Pass  ; 

(3)  Little  Fork   Pass  ; 

(4)  Kicking  Horse  Pass — six  in  all,  which,  with  the  North 
Kootenay  (on  British  territory),  make  up  seven  known  passes. 

Having  wintered  at  Edmonton,  he  satisfied  himself  that  this 
region  so  far  north  and  west  is  a  good  agricultural  region,  that 
the  Saskatchewan  region  compares  favourably  with  that  of  the 
Red  River  Valley,  that  the  rule  of  the  country  should  be  given 
over  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  to  the  general  Govern- 


FAMOUS  JOURNEYS  IN  RUPERT'S  LAND    343 

ment,  and  that  a  railway  could  be  built  easily  from  the  Red 
River  to  the  eastern  foot  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

Orders  having  reached  Palliser  to  proceed,  he  undertook,  in 
the  summer  of  1859,  a  journey  across  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
following  in  part  the  old  Hudson's  Bay  Company  trail.  On 
St.  Andrew's  Day,  the  party  arrived  at  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  post  at  Vancouver  on  the  Columbia,  and  was 
welcomed  by  Mr.  Graham,  the  officer  in  charge. 

Taking  steamer  down  the  Columbia  with  his  assistant 
Sullivan,  Captain  Palliser  went  to  Victoria,  a  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  establishment  on  Vancouver  Island,  whither  they 
were  followed  by  Dr.  Hector.  Journeying  south-west  to  San 
Francisco,  he  returned,  via  Isthmus  of  Panama,  to  New  York 
and  England. 

The  expedition  was  one  of  the  best  organized,  best  managed, 
and  most  successful  that  visited  Rupert's  Land.  The  report  is 
a  sensible,  well-balanced,  minute,  and  reliable  account  of  the 
country  passed  over. 

HIND   AND   DAWSON'S   EXPLORATION. 

In  the  same  year  that  Palliser 's  expedition  was  despatched 
by  the  British  Government  to  examine  the  resources  and 
characteristics  of  Rupert's  Land,  a  party  was  sent  by  the 
Canadian  Government  with  similar  ends  in  view,  but  more 
especially  to  examine  the  routes  and  means  of  access  by  which 
the  prairies  of  the  North-West  might  be  reached  from  Lake 
Superior. 

The  staff  of  the  party  was  as  follows :  George  Gladman, 
director  ;  Professor  Henry  Youle  Hind,  geologist ;  W.  H.  E. 
Napier,  engineer  ;  S.  J.  Dawson,  surveyor.  These,  along  with 
several  foremen,  twelve  Caughnawaga  Iroquois,  from  near 
Lachine,  and  twelve  Ojibeway  Indians  from  Fort  William, 
made  up  a  stirring  canoe  party  of  forty-four  persons. 

In  July,  1857,  the  expedition  left  Toronto,  went  by  land 
to  Collingwood  on  Lake  Huron,  embarked  there  on  the 
steamer  Collingwood,  and  passing  by  Sault  St.  Marie,  reached 
on  August  1st  Fort  William  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kaministiquia. 
Mr.  John  Mclntyre,  the  officer  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
in  charge  of  Fort  William,  has  given  to  the  writer  an  account 


344  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

of  the  arrival  of  the  party  there  with  their  great  supply  canoes, 
trading  outfit,  and  apparatus,  piled  up  high  on  the  steamer's 
deck — a  great  contrast  to  the  scanty  but  probably  more  efficient 
means  of  transport  found  on  a  Hudson's  Bay  Company  trading 
journey.  The  party  in  due  time  went  forward  over  the  usual 
fur  traders'  route,  which  we  have  so  often  described,  and 
arrived  at  Fort  Garry  early  in  September. 

As  the  object  of  the  expedition  was  to  spy  out  the  land, 
the  Red  River  settlement,  now  grown  to  considerable  size, 
afforded  the  explorers  an  interesting  field  for  study.  Simple 
though  the  conditions  of  life  were,  yet  the  fact  that  six  or 
seven  thousands  of  human  beings  were  gaining  a  livelihood  and 
were  possessed  of  a  number  of  the  amenities  of  life,  made 
its  impress  on  the  visitors,  and  Hind's  chapters  VI.  to  X.  of 
his  first  volume  are  taken  up  with  a  general  account  of 
the  settlement,  the  banks  of  the  Red  River,  statistics  of 
population,  administration  of  justice,  trade,  occupations 
of  the  people,  missions,  education,  and  agriculture  at  Red 
River. 

Having  arrived  at  the  settlement,  the  leaders  devised  plans 
for  overtaking  their  work.  The  approach  of  winter  made  it 
impossible  to  plan  expeditions  over  the  plains  to  any  profit. 
Mr.  Gladman  returned  by  canoe  to  Lake  Superior  early  in 
September,  Napier  and  his  assistants  took  up  their  abode 
among  the  better  class  of  English-speaking  half-breeds 
between  the  upper  and  lower  forts  on  the  banks  of  the  Red 
River.  Mr.  Dawson  found  shelter  among  his  Roman  Catholic 
co-religionists  half  a  mile  from  Fort  Garry.  He  and  his 
party  were  to  be  engaged  during  the  winter  between  Red  River 
and  the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  along  the  route  afterwards  called 
the  Dawson  Road,  while  Hind  followed  his  party  up  the  western 
bank  of  Red  River  to  Pembina,  and  his  own  account  is  that 
there  was  of  them  "  all  told,  five  gentlemen,  five  half-breeds, 
six  saddle  horses,  and  five  carts,  to  which  were  respectively 
attached  four  poor  horses  and  one  refractory  mule." 

This  party  was  returning  to  Canada,  going  by  way  of  Crow 
Wing,  thence  by  stage  coach  to  St.  Paul,  on  the  Mississippi, 
then  by  rail  unbroken  to  Toronto,  which  was  reached  after  an 
absence  of  three  and  a  half  months. 


FAMOUS  JOURNEYS  IN  RUPERT'S  LAND     345 

The  next  season  Hind  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  expedition, 
and  with  new  assistants  went  up  the  lakes  in  May,  leading 
them  by  the  long-deserted  route  of  Grand  Portage  instead  of 
by  Kaministiquia.  The  journey  from  Lake  Superior  to  Fort 
Garry  was  made  in  about  twenty-one  days.  On  their  arrival  at 
Red  River  the  party  found  that  Mr.  Dawson  had  gone  on  an 
exploring  tour  to  the  Saskatchewan.  Having  organized  his 
expedition  Hind  now  went  up  the  Assiniboine  to  Fort  Ellice. 
The  Qu'Appelle  Valley  was  then  explored,  and  the  lake  reached 
from  which  two  streamlets  flow,  one  into  the  Qu'Appelle  and 
thence  to  the  Assiniboine,  the  other  into  the  Saskatchewan. 
Descending  the  Saskatchewan,  at  the  mouth  of  which  the 
Grand  Rapids  impressed  the  party,  they  made  the  journey 
thence  up  Lake  Winnipeg  and  Red  River  to  the  place  of 
departure.  The  tour  was  a  most  interesting  one,  having 
occupied  all  the  summer.  Hind  was  a  close  observer,  was 
most  skilful  in  working  with  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
and  its  officers,  and  he  gained  an  excellent  view  of  the  most 
fertile  parts  of  the  country.  His  estimate  of  it  on  the  whole  has 
been  wonderfully  borne  out  by  succeeding  years  of  experience 
and  investigation. 

MILTON   AND    CHEADLE. 

The  world  at  large,  after  Hind's  expedition  and  the  publica- 
tion of  his  interesting  observations,  began  to  know  more  of  the 
fur  traders'  land  and  showed  more  interest  in  it.  In  the 
years  succeeding  Hind's  expedition  a  number  of  enterprising 
Canadians  reached  Fort  Garry  by  way  of  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  and 
took  up  their  abode  in  the  country.  A  daring  band  of  nearly 
200  Canadians,  drawn  by  the  gold  fever,  started  in  1862,  on 
an  overland  journey  to  Cariboo  ;  but  many  of  them  perished 
by  the  way.  Three  other  well-known  expeditions  deserve 
notice. 

The  first  of  these  was  in  1862  by  Viscount  Milton  and  Dr. 
Cheadle.  Coming  from  England  by  way  of  Minnesota  to 
Fort  Garry,  they  stopped  at  Red  River  settlement,  and  by 
conveyance  crossed  the  prairies  in  their  first  season  as  far  as 
Fort  Carlton  on  the  North  Saskatchewan,  and  wintered 
there.  The  season  was  enjoyable,  and  in  spring  the  explorers 


346  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

ascended  the  Saskatchewan  to  Edmonton,  and  then,  by  way  of 
the  Yellow  Head  Pass,  crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Their 
descent  down  the  Thompson  River  was  a  most  difficult  one. 
The  explorers  were  nearly  lost  through  starvation,  and  on 
their  arrival  by  way  of  Fraser  River  at  Victoria  their  appear- 
ance was  most  distressing  and  their  condition  most  pitiable. 
A  few  years  ago,  in  company  with  a  party  of  members  of  the 
British  Association,  Dr.  Cheadle  visited  Winnipeg,  and  at  a 
banquet  in  the  city  expressed  to  the  writer  his  surprise  that 
the  former  state  of  scarcity  of  food  even  on  Red  River  had 
been  so  changed  into  the  evident  plenty  which  Manitoba  now 
enjoys.  Milton  and  Cheadle's  "  The  North- West  Passage  by 
Land  "  is  a  most  enjoyable  book. 

CAPTAIN   BUTLER. 

In  the  early  months  of  the  year  1870,  when  Red  River 
settlement  was  under  the  hand  of  the  rebel  Louis  Riel,  a  tall, 
distinguished-looking  stranger  descended  the  Red  River  in  the 
steamer  International.  News  had  been  sent  by  a  courier  on 
horseback  to  the  rebel  chief  that  a  dangerous  stranger  was 
approaching.  The  stalwart  Irish  visitor  was  Captain  W.  F. 
Butler,  of  H.M.  69th  Regiment  of  Foot.  As  the  International 
neared  Fort  Garry,  Butler,  with  a  well-known  resident  of  Red 
River  settlement,  sprang  upon  the  river-bank  from  the  steamer 
in  the  dark  as  she  turned  into  the  Assiniboine  River. 

He  escaped  to  the  lower  part  of  the  settlement,  but  the  know- 
ledge that  he  had  a  letter  from  the  Roman  Catholic  Archbishop 
Tache  led  to  the  rebel  chief  sending  for  and  promising  him  a 
safe-conduct.  Butler  came  and  inspected  the  fort,  and  again 
departed  to  Lake  Winnipeg,  River  Winnipeg,  and  Lake  of  the 
Woods,  where  he  accomplished  his  real  mission,  in  telling  to 
General  Wolseley,  of  the  relief  expedition  coming  to  drive 
away  the  rebels,  the  state  of  matters  in  the  Red  River. 

Captain  Butler  then  went  west,  crossed  country  to  the  Sas- 
katchewan, descended  the  river,  and  in  winter  came  through, 
by  snow-shoe  and  dog  train,  over  Lakes  Winnipegoosis  and 
Manitoba  to  the  east,  and  then  to  Europe. 

Love  of  adventure  brought  Captain  Butler  back  to  the  North  - 
West.  In  1872  he  journeyed  through  the  former  fur  traders' 


FAMOUS  JOURNEYS  IN  RUPERT'S  LAND    347 

land,  reaching  Lake  Athabasca  in  March,  1873.  Ascending  the 
Peace  River,  he  arrived  in  Northern  British  Columbia  in  May. 
Through  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  the  dense  forests  of 
New  Caledonia  he  toiled  to  reach  Quesnel,  on  the  Fraser,  four 
hundred  miles  north  of  Victoria,  British  Columbia,  where  he 
in  due  time  landed. 

Captain  Butler  has  left  a  graphic,  perhaps  somewhat  em- 
bellished, account  of  his  travels  in  the  books,  "  Great  Lone 
Land  "  and  "  Wild  North  Land/'  The  central  figure  of  his 
first  book  is  the  faithful  horse  "  Blackie  "  and  of  the  second  the 
Eskimo  dog  "  Cerf-Vola."  The  appreciative  reader  feels,  how- 
ever, especially  in  the  latter,  the  spirit  and  power  of  Milton's 
and  Cheadle's  "  North- West  Passage  by  Land  "  everywhere  in 
these  descriptive  works. 

FLEMING    AND    GRANT. 

Third  of  these  expeditions  was  that  undertaken  in  1872, 
under  the  leadership  of  Sandford  Fleming,  which  has  been 
chronicled  in  the  work  "  Ocean  to  Ocean,"  by  Rev.  Principal 
Grant.  The  writer  saw  this  expedition  at  Winnipeg  in  the 
summer  of  its  arrival.  It  came  for  the  purpose  of  crossing  the 
plains,  as  a  preliminary  survey  for  a  railway.  The  party  came 
up  the  lakes,  and  by  boat  and  portage  over  the  traders'  route, 
and  the  Dawson  Road  from  Lake  of  the  Woods  to  Red  River, 
and  halted  near  Fort  Garry.  Going  westward,  they  for  the 
most  part  followed  the  path  of  Milton  and  Cheadle.  Fort 
Carlton  and  then  Edmonton  House  were  reached,  and  the 
Yellow  Head  Pass  was  followed  to  the  North  Thompson  River. 
The  forks  of  the  river  at  Kamloops  were* passed,  and  then  the 
canoe  way  down  the  Fraser  to  the  sea  was  taken.  The  return 
journey  was  made  by  way  of  San  Francisco.  The  expedition 
did  much  to  open  the  way  for  Canadian  emigration  and  to  keep 
before  the  minds  of  Canadians  the  necessity  for  a  waggon  road 
across  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  for  a  railway  from  ocean  to 
ocean  as  soon  as  possible.  Dr.  Grant's  conclusion  was  :  "  We 
know  that  we  have  a  great  North-West,  a  country  like  old 
Canada — not  suited  for  lotus-eaters  to  live  in,  but  fitted  to  rear 
a  healthy  and  hardy  race." 


CHAPTER    XXXV. 

RED   RIVER   SETTLEMENT. 
1817-1846. 

Chiefly  Scottish  and  French  settlers — Many  hardships — Grass- 
hoppers —  Yellow  Head  —  "  Gouverneur  Sauterelle  "  —  Swiss 
settlers — Remarkable  parchment — Captain  Bulger,  a  military 
governor — Indian  troubles — Donald  Mackenzie,  a  fur  trader, 
governor — Many  projects  fail — The  flood — Plenty  follows — Social 
condition — Lower  Fort  built — Upper  Fort  Garry — Council  of 
Assiniboia — The  settlement  organized — Duncan  Finlayson  gover- 
nor— English  farmers — Governor  Christie — Serious  epidemic — 
A  regiment  of  regulars — The  unfortunate  major — The  people 
restless. 

THE  cessation  of  hostilities  between  the  rival  Companies 
afforded  an  opportunity  to  Lord  Selkirk's  settlement  to  pro- 
ceed with  its  development.  To  the  scared  and  harassed  settlers 
it  gave  the  prospects  of  peace  under  their  Governor,  Alexander 
Macdonell,  who  had  been  in  the  fur  trade,  but  took  charge  of 
the  settlement  after  the  departure  of  Miles  Macdonell.  The 
state  of  affairs  was  far  from  promising.  The  population  of 
Scottish  and  Irish  settlers  was  less  than  two  hundred.  There 
were  a  hundred  or  thereabout  of  De  Meurons,  brought  up  by 
Lord  Selkirk,  and  a  number  of  French  voyageurs,  free  traders 
or  "  freemen  "  as  opposed  to  engagts,  and  those  who,  with  their 
half-breed  families,  had  begun  to  assemble  about  the  forks  and 
to  take  up  holdings  for  themselves.  For  the  last  mentioned, 
the  hunt,  fishing,  and  the  fur  trade  afforded  a  living  ;  but  as  to 
the  settlers  and  De  Meurons,  Providence  seemed  to  favour  them 
but  little  more  than  the  hostile  Nor '-Westers  had  done. 

The  settlers  were  chiefly  men  who  were  unacquainted  with 
farming,  and  they  had  few  implements,  no  cattle  or  horses,  and 
the  hoe  and  spade  were  their  only  means  of  fitting  the  soil  for 

348 


RED   RIVER   SETTLEMENT 


349 


the  small  quantity  of  grain  supplied  them  for  sowing.  Other 
means  of  employment  or  livelihood  there  were  none.  In  1818 
the  crops  of  the  settlers  were  devoured  by  an  incursion  of 
locusts.  On  several  occasions  clouds  of  these  destructive 
insects  have  visited  Red  River,  and  their  ravages  are  not  only 
serious,  but  they  paralyze  all  effort  on  the  part  of  the  husband- 
men. The  description  given  by  the  prophet  Joel  was  precisely 
reproduced  on  the  banks  of  the  Red  River, ' '  the  land  is  as  the 
Garden  of  Eden  before  them,  and  behind  them  is  a  desolate 
wilderness  ;  yea,  and  nothing  shall  escape  them."  There 
was  no  resource  for  the  settlers  but  to  betake  themselves  to 
Pembina  to  seek  the  buffalo.  In  the  next  year  they  sowed 
their  scanty  seed,  but  the  young  "  grass-hoppers,"  as  they 
were  called,  rose  from  the  eggs  deposited  in  the  previous  year, 
and  while  the  wheat  was  in  the  blade,  cleared  it  from  the  fields 
more  thoroughly  than  any  reaper  could  have  done.  This 
scourge  continued  till  the  spring  of  1821,  when  the  locusts 
disappeared  suddenly,  and  the  crop  of  that  year  was  a 
bountiful  one. 

During  these  years  the  colony  was  understood  to  be  under 
the  personal  ownership  of  Lord  Selkirk.  He  regarded  himself 
as  responsible,  as  lord  paramount  of  the  district,  for  the  safety 
and  support  of  the  colonists.  In  the  first  year  of  the  settle- 
ment he  had  sent  out  supplies  of  food,  clothing,  implements, 
arms,  and  ammunition  ;  a  store-house  had  been  erected  ;  and 
this  continued  during  these  years  to  be  supplied  with  what  was 
needed.  It  was  the  Governor's  duty  to  regulate  the  distribu- 
tion of  these  stores  and  to  keep  account  of  them  as  advances 
to  the  several  settlers,  and  of  the  interest  charged  upon  such 
advances.  Whilst  the  store  was  a  boon,  even  a  necessity,  to 
the  settlers,  it  was  also  an  instrument  of  oppression.  Alexan- 
der Macdonell  was  called  "  Gouverneur  Sauterelle  "  ("  Grass- 
hopper Governor  "),  the  significant  statement  being  made  by 
Ross  * '  that  he  was  so  nicknamed  because  he  proved  as  great 
a  destroyer  within  doors  as  the  grasshoppers  in  the  fields."  He 
seems,  moreover,  to  have  been  an  extravagant  official,  being 
surrounded  by  a  coterie  of  kindred  spirits,  who  lived  in  "  one 
prolonged  scene  of  debauchery." 

With  the  departure  of  the  grasshoppers  from  the  country 


350  THE    HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

departed  also  the  unpopular  and  unfaithful  Governor.  It 
was  only  on  the  visit  of  Mr.  Halkett,  one  of  Lord  Selkirk's 
executors,  that  Macdonell's  course  of  "  false  entries,  erro- 
neous statements,  and  over-charges  "  was  discovered,  and  the 
accounts  of  the  settlers  adjusted  to  give  them  their  rights. 
The  disgraceful  reign  of  Governor  Macdonell  was  brought  to 
a  close  none  too  soon. 

During  the  period  of  Governor  Macdonell's  rule  a  number 
of  important  events  had  taken  place.  The  union  of  the  two 
rival  Companies  was  accomplished.  Clergy,  both  Roman 
Catholic  and  of  the  Church  of  England,  had  arrived  in  the 
colony.  A  farm  had  been  begun  by  the  Colony  officers  on  the 
banks  of  the  Assiniboine,  and  the  name  of  Hayfield  Farm  was 
borne  by  it.  Perhaps  the  most  notable  event  was  the  arrival 
at  Red  River  of  a  number  of  Swiss  settlers.  These  were 
brought  out  by  Colonel  May,  late  of  the  De  Watteville  regi- 
ment. A  native  of  Berne,  he  had  come  to  Canada,  but  not 
to  Red  River. 

The  Swiss  were  in  many  ways  an  element  of  interest. 
Crossing  the  ocean  by  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  ships  they 
arrived  at  York  Factory  in  August,  1821,  and  were  borne  in 
the  Company's  York  boats  to  their  destination.  Gathered,  as 
they  had  been,  from  the  towns  and  villages  of  Switzerland,  and 
being  chiefly  "  watch  and  clock  makers,  pastry  cooks,  and 
musicians,"  they  were  ill-suited  for  such  a  new  settlement 
as  that  of  Red  River,  where  they  must  become  agriculturists. 
They  seem  to  have  been  honest  and  orderly  people,  though 
very  poor. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  De  Meurons  had  come  as 
soldiers  ;  they  were  chiefly,  therefore,  unmarried  men.  The 
arrival  of  the  Swiss,  with  their  handsome  sons  and  daughters, 
produced  a  flutter  of  excitement  in  the  wifeless  De  Meuron 
cabins  along  German  Creek.  The  result  is  described  in  the 
words  of  a  most  trustworthy  eye-witness  of  what  took  place  : 
"  No  sooner  had  the  Swiss  emigrants  arrived  than  many  of 
the  Germans,  who  had  come  to  the  settlement  a  few  years  ago 
from  Canada  and  had  houses,  presented  themselves  in  search 
of  a  wife,  and  having  fixed  their  attachment  with  acceptance, 
they  received  those  families  in  which  was  their  choice  into 


RED   RIVER    SETTLEMENT  351 

their  habitations.  Those  who  had  no  daughters  to  afford  this 
introduction  were  obliged  to  pitch  their  tents  along  the  banks 
of  the  river  and  outside  the  stockades  of  the  fort,  till  they 
removed  to  Pembina  in  the  better  prospects  of  provisions  for 
the  winter."  The  whole  affair  was  a  repetition  of  the  old 
Sabine  story. 

In  connection  with  these  De  Meurons  and  Swiss,  it  may  be 
interesting  to  mention  a  remarkable  parchment  agreement 
which  the  writer  has  perused.  It  is  eleven  feet  long,  and 
one  and  a  half  feet  wide,  containing  the  signatures  of  forty- 
nine  settlers,  of  which  twenty-five  are  those  of  De  Meurons 
or  Swiss,  the  remainder  being  of  Highlanders  and  Norwegians. 
Among  these  names  are  Bender,  Lubrevo,  Quiluby,  Bendowitz, 
Kralic,  Wassloisky,  Joli,  Jankosky,  Wachter,  Lassota,  Laidece, 
Warcklur,  Krusel,  Jolicceur,  Maquet,  and  Lalonde. 

This  agreement  binds  the  Earl  of  Selkirk  or  his  agents  not 
to  engage  in  the  sale  of  spirituous  liquors  or  the  fur  trade,  but 
to  provide  facilities  for  transport  of  goods  from  and  into  the 
country,  and  at  moderate  rates.  The  settlers  are  bound  to 
keep  up  roads,  to  support  a  clergyman,  and  to  provide  for 
defence.  The  document  is  not  only  a  curiosity,  but  historically 
valuable.  There  is  no  date  upon  it,  but  the  date  is  fixed 
by  the  signatures,  viz.  "  for  the  Buffalo  Wool  Company,  John 
Pritchard."  That  Company,  we  know,  began,  and  as  we  shall 
see  afterwards,  failed  in  the  years  1821  and  1822.  This, 
accordingly,  is  the  date  of  the  document  marking  the  era  of  the 
fusion  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and  the  Nor'-Westers. 

The  De  Meurons  and  Swiss  never  took  kindly  to  Red  River. 
So  early  as  1822,  after  wintering  at  Pembina,  a  number  of  them, 
instead  of  turning  their  faces  toward  Fort  Garry,  went  up  the 
Red  River  into  Minnesota,  and  took  up  farms  where  St.  Paul 
now  stands,  on  the  Mississippi.  They  were  the  first  settlers 
there.  Among  their  names  are  those  of  Garvas,  Pierrie,  Louis 
Massey,  and  that  of  Perry,  men  who  became  very  rich  in  herds 
in  the  early  days  of  Minnesota. 

On  the  removal  of  Governor  Macdonell,  Captain  A.  Bulger 
was,  in  June,  1822,  installed  as  Governor  of  Assiniboia.  His 
rule  only  lasted  one  year  and  proved  troublous,  though  he  was 
a  high-minded  and  capable  official.  There  lies  before  the 


352  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

writer,  "  Papers  Referring  to  Red  River/'  consisting  chiefly 
of  a  long  letter  published  by  the  Captain  in  India,  written 
in  1822  to  Andrew  Colville,  one  of  the  executors  of  Lord 
Selkirk. 

One  of  his  chief  troubles  was  the  opposition  given  him  by 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  officer  Clarke,  who  was  in  charge 
of  their  establishment  at  the  Forks.  Every  effort  was  put 
forth  by  Clarke  to  make  Bulger's  position  uncomfortable,  and 
the  opposition  drove  the  Captain  away. 

Bulger  also  had  a  worrying  experience  with  Peguis,  the 
chief  of  the  Indians  on  the  Lower  Red  River.  Though  Peguis 
and  the  other  chiefs  had  made  a  treaty  with  Lord  Selkirk  and 
ceded  certain  lands  to  his  Lordship,  they  now,  with  the 
fickleness  of  children,  repented  of  their  bargain  and  sought 
additional  payment  for  the  concession.  Bulger's  military 
manner,  however,  overcame  the  chief,  and  twenty-five  lashes 
administered  to  an  Indian  who  had  attempted  violence  had  a 
sobering  effect  upon  the  Red  man. 

Governor  Bulger  expresses  himself  very  freely  on  the 
character  of  the  De  Meuron  settlers.  He  says  :  "  It  is  quite 
absurd  to  suppose  they  will  ever  prove  peaceable  and  indus- 
trious settlers.  The  only  charm  that  Red  River  possesses 
in  their  eyes,  and,  I  may  say,  in  the  eyes  of  almost  all  the 
settlers,  is  the  colony  stores.  Their  demands  are  insatiable, 
and  when  refused,  their  insolence  extreme.  United  as  they 
are  among  themselves,  and  ferocious  in  their  dispositions, 
nothing  can  be  done  against  them."  It  is  but  fair,  however, 
to  state  that  the  Captain  had  a  low  opinion  both  of  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company's  officers  and  of  the  French  Canadian 
freemen. 

Governor  Bulger,  on  retiring,  made  the  following  suggestions, 
which  show  the  evils  which  he  thought  needed  a  remedy,  viz. 
' '  to  get  courts  and  magistrates  nominated  by  the  King  ;  to  get 
a  company  of  troops  sent  out  to  support  the  magistrates  and 
keep  the  natives  in  order  ;  to  circulate  money  ;  to  find  a  mar- 
ket for  the  surplus  grain  ;  to  let  it  be  determined  whether  the 
council  at  York  Factory  are  justified  in  preventing  the  settlers 
from  buying  moose  or  deer  skin  for  clothing  and  provisions." 
The  Governor's  closing  words  are,  "  if  these  things  cannot  be 


RED   RIVER    SETTLEMENT  353 

done,  it  is  my  sincere  advice  to  you  to  spend  no  more  of  Lord 
Selkirk's  money  upon  Red  River." 

Governor  Bulger  was  succeeded  by  Robert  Pelly,  who  was 
the  brother  of  Sir  J.  H.  Pelly,  the  Governor  of  the  Company  in 
London.  It  seems  to  have  been  about  this  time  that  the 
executors  of  Lord  Selkirk,  while  not  divesting  themselves  of 
their  Red  River  possessions,  yet  in  order  to  avoid  the  unseemly 
conflicts  seen  in  Bulger's  time,  entrusted  the  administration  of 
their  affairs  to  the  Company's  officers  at  Red  River.  We  have 
seen  in  a  former  chapter  the  appointment  of  the  committee  to 
manage  these  Red  River  affairs  at  Norway  House  council. 

After  two  years  Pelly  retired,  and  Donald  McKenzie,  a  fur 
trader  who  had  taken  part  in  the  stirring  events  of  Astoria,  to 
which  we  have  referred,  became  Governor. 

The  discontent  of  the  settlers,  and  the  wish  to  advance  the 
colony,  led  the  Company  for  a  number  of  years  after  the  union 
of  the  Companies  to  try  various  projects  for  the  development 
of  the  colony.  Though  the  recital  of  these  gives  a  melancholy 
picture  of  failure,  yet  it  shows  a  heartiness  and  willingness  on 
the  part  of  the  Company  to  do  the  best  for  the  settlers,  albeit 
there  was  in  every  case  bad  management. 

Immediately  after  the  union  of  the  two  fur  Companies  in 
1821,  a  company  to  manufacture  cloth  from  buffalo  wool  was 
started.  This,  of  course,  was  a  mad  scheme,  but  there  was  a 
clamour  that  work  should  be  found  for  the  hungry  immigrants. 
The  Company  began  operations,  and  every  one  was  to  become 
rich.  $10,000  of  money  raised  in  shares  was  deposited  in  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company's  hands  as  the  bankers  of  the  "  Buffalo 
Wool  Company,"  machinery  was  obtained,  and  the  people 
largely  gave  up  agriculture  to  engage  in  killing  buffalo  and 
collecting  buffalo  skins.  Trade  was  to  be  the  philosopher's 
stone.  In  1822  the  bubble  burst.  It  cost  $12.50  to  manufac- 
ture a  yard  of  buffalo  wool  cloth  on  Red  River,  and  the  cloth 
only  sold  for  $1.10  a  yard  in  London.  The  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  advanced  $12,500  beyond  the  amount  deposited, 
and  a  few  years  afterwards  was  under  the  necessity  of  forgiving 
the  debt.  The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had  thus  its  lesson 
in  encouraging  the  settlers. 

The  money  distributed  to  the  settlers  through  this  Com- 
Aa 


354  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

pany,  however,  bought  cattle  for  them,  several  hundred 
cattle  having  been  brought  from  Illinois  that  year.  A 
model  farm  for  the  benefit  of  the  settlers  was  next  undertaken. 
Buildings,  implements,  and  also  a  mansion,  costing  $3,000,  for 
the  manager,  were  provided.  A  few  years  of  mismanagement 
and  extravagance  brought  this  experiment  to  an  end  also,  and 
the  founders  were  $10,000  out  of  pocket.  Such  was  another 
scheme  to  encourage  the  settlers. 

Driven  to  another  effort  by  the  discontent  of  the  people, 
Governor  Simpson  tried  another  model  farm.  At  a  fine  spot 
on  the  Assiniboine,  farm  dwellings,  barns,  yards,  and  stables 
were  erected  and  fields  enclosed,  well-bred  cattle  were  imported, 
also  horses.  The  farm  was  well  stocked  with  implements. 
Mismanagement,  however,  again  brought  its  usual  result,  and 
after  six  years  the  trial  was  given  up,  there  having  been  a  loss 
to  the  Company  of  $17,500. 

Nothing  daunted,  the  Red  River  settlers  started  the  "  Assini- 
boine Wool  Company,"  but  as  it  fell  through  upon  the  first 
demand  for  payment  of  the  stock,  it  hurt  nobody,  and  ended, 
according  to  the  proverb,  with  "  much  cry  and  little  wool/' 

Another  enterprise  was  next  begun  by  Governor  Simpson, 
' '  The  Flax  and  Hemp  Company,"  but  though  the  farmers  grew 
a  plentiful  quantity  of  these,  the  undertaking  failed,  and  the 
crop  rotted  on  the  fields.  A  more  likely  scheme  for  the 
encouragement  of  the  settlers  was  now  set  on  foot  by  the 
Governor,  viz.  a  new  sheep  speculation.  Sheep  were  purchased 
in  Missouri,  and  after  a  journey  of  nearly  fifteen  hundred  miles, 
only  two  hundred  and  fifty  sheep  out  of  the  original  fourteen 
hundred  survived  the  hardships  of  the  way. 

A  tallow  company  is  said  to  have  swallowed  up  from  $3,000 
to  $5,000  for  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  a  good  deal  of 
money  was  spent  in  opening  up  a  road  to  Hudson  Bay.  Thus 
was  enterprise  after  enterprise  undertaken  by  the  Company, 
largely  for  the  good  of  the  settlers.  If  ever  an  honest  effort 
was  made  to  advance  an  isolated  and  difficult  colony,  it  was 
in  these  schemes  begun  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  here. 

The  most  startling  event  during  the  rule  of  Governor 
Mackenzie  was  the  Red  River  flood  in  1826.  The  winter  of 
this  year  had  been  severe,  and  a  great  snowfall  gave  promise 


RED   RIVER   SETTLEMENT  355 

of  a  wet  and  dangerous  spring.  The  snow  had  largely  cleared 
away,  when,  early  in  the  month  of  May,  the  waters  began  rising 
with  surprising  rapidity.  The  banks  of  the  rivers  were  soon 
unable  to  contain  the  floods,  and  once  on  the  prairie  level  the 
waters  spread  for  miles  east  and  west  in  a  great  lake.  The 
water  rose  several  feet  in  the  houses  of  the  settlers.  When  the 
wind  blew  the  waves  dashed  over  the  roofs.  Buildings  were 
undermined  and  some  were  floated  away.  The  settlers  were 
compelled  to  leave  their  homes,  and  took  flight  to  the  heights 
of  Stony  Mountain,  Little  Mountain,  Bird's  Hill,  and  other 
elevations.  For  weeks  the  flood  continued,  but  at  last,  on  its 
receding,  the  homeless  settlers  returned  to  their  battered  and 
damaged  houses,  much  disheartened.  The  crops,  however, 
were  sown,  though  late,  and  a  fair  harvest  was  gathered  in  that 
unpromising  year. 

The  flood  was  the  last  straw  that  broke  the  back  of  the 
endurance  of  De  Meurons  and  Swiss  colonists.  They  almost 
all  withdrew  from  the  country  and  became  settlers  in  Min- 
nesota and  other  States  of  the  American  Union.  Either  from 
pride  or  real  dislike,  the  Selkirk  settlers  declared  that  they  were 
well  rid  of  these  discontented  and  turbulent  foreigners. 

The  year  of  the  flood  seems  to  have  introduced  an  era  of 
plenty,  for  the  people  rebuilt  their  houses,  cultivated  their 
fields,  received  full  returns  for  their  labour,  and  were  enabled 
to  pay  off  their  debts  and  improve  their  buildings.  During 
Governor  McKenzie's  regime  at  the  time  of  the  flood,  the 
population  of  the  Red  River  settlement  had  reached  fifteen 
hundred. 

After  this,  though  the  colony  lost  by  desertions,  as  we  have 
seen,  yet  it  continued  to  gain  by  the  addition  of  retiring 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  officers  and  servants,  who  took  up 
land  as  allowed  by  the  Company  in  strips  along  the  river  after 
the  Lower  Canadian  fashion,  for  which  they  paid  small  sums. 
There  were  in  many  cases  no  deeds,  simply  the  registration  of 
the  name  in  the  Company's  register.  A  man  sold  his  lot  for  a 
horse,  and  it  was  a  matter  of  chance  whether  the  registration 
of  the  change  in  the  lot  took  place  or  not.  This  was  certainly 
a  mode  of  transferring  land  free  enough  to  suit  an  English 
Radical  or  even  Henry  George.  The  land  reached  as  far  out 


356  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

from  the  river  as  could  be  seen  by  looking  under  a  horse,  say 
two  miles,  and  back  of  this  was  the  limitless  prairie,  which 
became  a  species  of  common  where  all  could  cut  hay  and 
where  herds  could  run  unconfined.  Wood,  water,  and  hay 
were  the  necessaries  of  a  Red  River  settler's  life  ;  to  cut  poplar 
rails  for  his  fences  in  spring  and  burn  the  dried  rails  in  the 
following  winter  was  quite  the  authorized  thing.  There  was 
no  inducement  to  grow  surplus  grain,  as  each  settler  could 
only  get  a  market  for  eight  bushels  of  wheat  from  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company.  It  could  not  be  exported.  Pemmican  from 
the  plains  was  easy  to  get ;  the  habits  of  the  people  were 
simple  ;  their  wants  were  few  ;  and  while  the  condition  of  Red 
River  settlement  was  far  from  being  that  of  an  Arcadia,  want 
was  absent  and  the  people  were  becoming  satisfied. 

To  Governor  McKenzie,  who  ruled  well  for  eight  years, 
credit  is  due  largely  for  the  peace  and  progress  of  the  period. 
Alexander  Ross,  who  came  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  Red 
River  in  1825,  is  the  chronicler  of  this  period,  and  it  is  with 
amusement  we  read  his  gleeful  account  of  the  erection  of  the 
first  stone  building,  small  though  it  was,  on  the  banks  of  Red 
River.  Lime  had  been  burnt  from  the  limestone,  found 
abundantly  along  the  lower  part  of  the  Red  River,  during  the 
time  of  Governor  Bulger.  It  was  in  1830  that  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  built  a  small  powder  magazine  of  stone,  near 
Fort  Garry.  This  was  the  beginning  of  solid  architecture  in 
the  settlement. 

In  the  following  year  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  evidently 
encouraged  by  the  thrift  and  contentment  of  the  people,  began 
the  erection  of  a  very  notable  and  important  group  of  buildings 
some  nineteen  miles  down  the  river  from  the  forks.  This  was 
called  Lower  Fort  Garry.  It  was  built  on  the  solid  rock,  and 
was,  and  is  to  this  day,  surrounded  by  a  massive  stone  wall. 
Various  reasons  have  been  advanced  for  the  building  of  this, 
the  first  permanent  fort  so  far  from  the  old  centre  of  trade,  and 
of  the  old  associations  at  the  "  forks."  Some  have  said  it  was 
done  to  place  it  among  the  English  people,  as  the  French 
settlers  were  becoming  turbulent;  some  that  it  was  at  the 
head  of  navigation  from  Lake  Winnipeg,  being  north  of  the 
St.  Andrew's  rapids  ;  and  some  maintained  that  the  site  was 


RED   RIVER    SETTLEMENT  357 

chosen  as  having  been  far  above  the  high  water  during  the  year 
of  flood,  when  Fort  Douglas  and  Upper  Fort  Garry  had  been 
surrounded.  The  motive  will  probably  never  be  known  ;  but 
for  a  time  it  was  the  residence  of  the  Governor  of  Rupert's  Land 
when  he  was  in  the  country,  and  was  the  seat  of  government. 
Four  years  afterwards,  when  Alexander  Christie  had  replaced 
Mr.  Donald  McKenzie  as  local  governor,  Fort  Garry  or  Upper 
Fort  Garry  was  begun  in  1835  at  the  forks,  but  on  higher 
ground  than  the  original  Fort  Garry  of  1821,  which  had  been 
erected  after  the  union  of  the  Companies. 

This  fort  continued  the  centre  of  business,  government, 
education,  and  public  affairs  for  more  than  three  decades  and 
was  the  nucleus  of  the  City  of  Winnipeg.  Sold  in  the  year 
1882,  the  fort  was  demolished,  and  the  front  gate,  now  owned 
by  the  city,  is  all  that  remains  of  this  historic  group  of  buildings. 
The  destruction  of  the  fort  was  an  act  of  vandalism,  reflecting 
on  the  sordid  man  who  purchased  it  from  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company. 

In  Governor  Christie's  time  the  necessity  was  recognized  of 
having  a  form  of  government  somewhat  less  patriarchal  than 
the  individual  rule  of  the  local  governor  had  been.  Accord- 
ingly, the  Council  of  Assiniboia  was  appointed  by  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  the  president  being  Sir  George  Simpson,  the 
Governor  of  Rupert's  Land,  and  with  him  fourteen  councillors. 
It  may  be  of  interest  to  give  the  names  of  the  members  of  this 
first  Council.  Besides  the  president  there  were  :  Alexander 
Christie,  Governor  of  the  Colony  ;  Rev.  D.  T.  Jones,  Chaplain 
H.  B.  C.  ;  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Provencher  ;  Rev.  William 
Cochrane,  Assistant  Chaplain  ;  James  Bird,  formerly  Chief 
Factor,  H.  B.  C.  ;  James  Sutherland,  Esq.  ;  W.  H.  Cook, 
Esq.  ;  John  Pritchard,  Esq.  ;  Robert  Logan,  Esq.  ;  Sheriff 
Alex.  Ross  ;  John  McCallum,  Coroner  ;  John  Bunn,  Medical 
Adviser ;  Cuthbert  Grant,  Esq.,  Warden  of  the  Plains ; 
Andrew  McDermott,  Merchant. 

It  is  generally  conceded,  however,  that  the  Council  did  not 
satisfy  the  public  aspirations.  The  president  and  councillors 
were  all  declared  either  sinecurists  or  paid  servants  of  the 
Company.  The  mass  of  the  people  complained  at  not  being 
represented.  It  was,  however,  a  step  very  much  in  advance  of 


358  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

what  had  been,  although  there  was  a  suspicion  in  the  public 
mind  that  it  had  something  of  the  form  of  popular  government 
without  the  substance. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Council  a  number  of  measures 
were  passed.  To  preserve  order  a  volunteer  corps  of  sixty  men 
was  organized,  with  a  small  annual  allowance  per  man.  Of 
this  body,  Sheriff  Ross  was  commander.  The  settlement  was 
divided  into  four  districts,  over  each  of  which  a  Justice  of  the 
Peace  was  appointed,  who  held  quarterly  courts  in  their  several 
jurisdictions.  At  this  court  small  actions  only  were  tried,  and 
the  presiding  magistrate  was  allowed  to  refer  any  case  of 
exceptional  difficulty  to  the  court  of  Governor  and  Council. 
This  higher  court  sat  quarterly  also.  In  larger  civil  cases  and 
in  criminal  cases  the  law  required  a  jury  to  be  called.  A  jail 
and  court-house  were  erected  outside  the  walls  of  Fort  Garry. 
To  meet  the  expense  involved  under  the  new  institutions  a  tax 
of  7J  per  cent,  duty  was  levied  on  imports  and  a  like  duty  on 
exports.  The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  also  agreed  to  contri- 
bute three  hundred  pounds  a  year  in  aid  of  public  works 
throughout  the  settlement. 

The  year  1839  was  notable  in  the  history  of  the  colony.  A 
new  Governor,  Duncan  Finlayson,  was  appointed,  and  steps 
were  taken  also  to  improve  the  judicial  system  which  had  been 
introduced.  An  appointment  was  made  of  the  first  recorder 
for  Red  River  settlement.  The  new  appointee  was  a  young 
Scottish  lawyer  from  Montreal,  named  Adam  Thorn.  He  had 
been  a  Journalist  in  Montreal,  was  of  an  ardent  and  somewhat 
aggressive  disposition,  but  was  a  man  of  ability  and  broad 
reading.  Judge  Thorn  was,  however,  a  Company  officer,  and 
as  such  there  was  an  antecedent  suspicion  of  him  in  the  public 
mind.  It  was  pointed  out  that  he  was  not  independent,  re- 
ceiving his  appointment  and  his  salary  of  seven  hundred  pounds 
from  the  Company.  In  Montreal  he  had  been  known  as  a 
determined  loyalist  in  the  late  Papineau  rebellion,  and  the 
French  people  regarded  him  as  hostile  to  their  race. 

The  population  of  the  settlement  continued  to  increase.  In 
the  last  year  of  Governor  Finlayson 's  rule,  twenty  families  of 
Lincolnshire  farmers  and  labourers  came  to  the  country  to 
assist  with  their  knowledge  of  agriculture.  After  five  years' 


RED  RIVER  SETTLEMENT  359 

rule  Governor  Finlayson  retired  from  office,  and  was  succeeded 
for  a  short  time  by  his  old  predecessor,  Mr.  Alexander  Christie. 

A  serious  epidemic  visited  the  Red  River  in  the  year  1846. 
Ross  describes  it  in  the  following  graphic  way:  "  In  January 
the  influenza  raged,  and  in  May  the  measles  broke  out  ;  but 
neither  of  these  visitations  proved  fatal.  At  length  in  June 
a  bloody  flux  began  its  ravages  first  among  the  Indians,  and 
others  among  the  whites  ;  like  the  great  cry  in  Egypt, '  There 
was  not  a  house  where  there  was  not  one  dead/  On  Red 
River  there  was  not  a  smiling  face  on  '  a  summer's  day.' 
From  June  18th  to  August  2nd,  the  deaths  averaged  seven  a 
day,  or  three  hundred  and  twenty-one  in  all,  being  one  out  of 
every  sixteen  of  our  population.  Of  these  one-sixth  were 
Indians,  two-thirds  half-breeds,  and  the  remainder  white. 
On  one  occasion  thirteen  burials  were  proceeding  at  once." 

During  this  year  also  the  Oregon  question,  with  which  we 
shall  afterwards  deal,  threatened  war  between  Great  Britain 
and  the  United  States.  The  policy  of  the  British  Government 
is,  on  the  first  appearance  of  trouble,  to  prepare  for  hostilities. 
Accordingly  the  6th  Royal  Regiment  of  Foot,  with  sappers  and 
artillery,  in  all  five  hundred  strong,  was  hurried  out  under 
Colonel  Crofton  to  defend  the  colony.  Colonel  Crofton  took 
the  place  of  Alexander  Christie  as  Governor.  The  addition  of 
this  body  of  military  to  the  colony  gave  picturesqueness  to  the 
hitherto  monotonous  life  of  Red  River.  A  market  for  produce 
and  the  circulation  of  a  large  sum  of  money  marked  their  stay 
on  Red  River.  The  turbulent  spirits  who  had  made  much 
trouble  were  now  silenced,  or  betook  themselves  to  a  safe  place 
across  the  boundary  line. 


CHAPTER    XXXVI. 

THE   PRAIRIES  :     SLEDGE,    KEEL,    WHEEL,    CAYUSE,    CHASE. 

A  picturesque  life — The  prairie  hunters  and  traders — Gaily-capari- 
soned dog  trains — The  great  winter  packets — Joy  in  the  lonely 
forts — The  summer  trade — The  York  boat  brigade — Expert 
voyageurs — The  famous  Red  River  cart — Shagganappe  ponies — 
The  screeching  train — Tripping — The  western  cayuse — The  great 
buffalo  hunt — Warden  of  the  plains — Pemmican  and  fat — the 
return  in  triumph. 

THE  great  prairies  of  Rupert's  Land  and  their  intersecting 
rivers  afforded  the  means  for  the  unique  and  picturesque  life  of 
the  prairie  hunters  and  traders.  The  frozen,  snowy  plains  and 
lakes  were  crossed  in  winter  by  the  serviceable  sledge  drawn 
by  Eskimo  dogs,  familiarly  called  "  Eskies  "  or  "  Huskies." 
When  summer  had  come,  the  lakes  and  rivers  of  the  prairies, 
formerly  skimmed  by  canoes,  during  the  fifty  years  from  the 
union  of  the  Companies  till  the  transfer  of  Rupert's  Land  to 
Canada,  were  for  freight  and  even  rapid  transit  crossed  and 
followed  by  York  and  other  boats.  The  transport  of  furs  and 
other  freight  across  the  prairies  was  accomplished  by  the  use 
of  carts — entirely  of  wood — drawn  by  Indian  ponies,  or  by 
oxen  in  harness,  while  the  most  picturesque  feature  of  the 
prairie  life  of  Red  River  was  the  departure  of  the  brigade  of 
carts  with  the  hunters  and  their  families  on  a  great  expedition 
for  the  exciting  chase  of  the  buffalo.  These  salient  points  of 
the  prairie  life  of  the  last  half -century  of  fur-trading  life  we  may 
with  profit  depict. 

SLEDGE   AND   PACKET. 

Under  the  regime  established  by  Governor  Simpson,  the 
communication  with  the  interior  was  reduced  to  a  system. 
The  great  winter  event  at  Red  River  was  the  leaving  of  the 

360 


THE   PRAIRIES  361 

North- West  packet  about  December  10th.  By  this  agency 
every  post  in  the  northern  department  was  reached.  Sledges 
and  snowshoes  were  the  means  by  which  this  was  accom- 
plished. The  sledge  or  tobogan  was  drawn  by  three  or  four 
"  Huskies/'  gaily  comparisoned  ;  and  with  these  neatly  har- 
nessed dogs  covered  with  bells,  the  traveller  or  the  load  of 
valuables  was  hurried  across  the  pathless  snowy  wastes  of  the 
plains  or  over  the  ice  of  the  frozen  lakes  and  rivers.  The  dogs 
carried  their  freight  of  fish  on  which  they  lived,  each  being  fed 
only  at  the  close  of  his  day's  work,  and  his  allowance  one  fish. 

The  winter  packet  was  almost  entirely  confined  to  the 
transport  of  letters  and  a  few  newspapers.  During  Sir  George 
Simpson's  time  an  annual  file  of  the  Montreal  Gazette  was 
sent  to  each  post,  and  to  some  of  the  larger  places  came  a  year's 
file  of  the  London  Times.  A  box  wras  fastened  on  the  back 
part  of  the  sledge,  and  this  was  packed  with  the  important 
missives  so  prized  when  the  journey  was  ended. 

Going  at  the  rate  of  forty  or  more  miles  a  day  with  the 
precious  freight,  the  party  with  their  sledges  camped  in  the 
shelter  of  a  clump  of  trees  or  bushes,  and  built  their  camp 
fire  ;  then  each  in  his  blankets,  often  joined  by  the  favourite 
dog  as  a  companion  for  heat,  sought  rest  on  the  couch  of 
spruce  or  willow  boughs  for  the  night  with  the  thermometer 
often  at  30  deg.  or  40  deg.  below  zero  F. 

The  winter  packet  ran  from  Fort  Garry  to  Norway  House,  a 
distance  of  350  miles.  At  this  point  the  packet  was  all  re- 
arranged, a  part  of  the  freight  being  carried  eastward  to 
Hudson  Bay,  the  other  portion  up  the  Saskatchewan  to  the 
western  and  northern  forts.  The  party  which  had  taken  the 
packet  to  Norway  House,  at  that  point  received  the  packages 
from  Hudson  Bay  and  with  them  returned  to  Fort  Garry. 
The  western  mail  from  Norway  House  was  taken  by  another 
sledge  party  up  the  Saskatchewan  River,  and  leaving  parcels 
at  posts  along  the  route,  reached  its  rendezvous  at  Carlton 
House.  The  return  party  from  that  point  received  the  mail 
from  the  North,  and  hastened  to  Fort  Garry  by  way  of  Swan 
River  district,  distributing  its  treasures  to  the  posts  it  passed 
and  reaching  Fort  Garry  usually  about  the  end  of  February. 

At  Carlton  a  party  of  runners  from  Edmonton  and  the  Upper 


362  THE    HUDSON'S   BAY    COMPANY 

Saskatchewan  made  rendezvous,  deposited  their  packages, 
received  the  outgoing  mail,  and  returned  to  their  homes.  Some 
of  the  matter  collected  from  the  Upper  Saskatchewan  and  that 
brought,  as  we  have  seen,  by  the  inland  packet  from  Fort 
Garry  was  taken  by  a  new  set  of  runners  to  Mackenzie  River, 
and  Athabasca.  Thus  at  Carlton  there  met  three  parties, 
viz.  from  Fort  Garry,  Edmonton,  and  Athabasca.  Each 
brought  a  packet  and  received  another  back  in  return.  The 
return  packet  from  Carlton  to  Fort  Garry,  arriving  in  February, 
took  up  the  accumulated  material,  went  with  it  to  Norway 
House,  the  place  whence  they  had  started  in  December,  thus 
carrying  the  "  Red  River  spring  packet,"  and  at  Norway 
House  it  was  met  by  another  express,  known  as  the  "  York 
Factory  spring  packet,"  which  had  just  arrived.  The  runners 
on  these  various  packets  underwent  great  exposure,  but  they 
were  fleet  and  athletic  and  knew  how  to  act  to  the  best  advan- 
tage in  storm  and  danger.  They  added  a  picturesque  interest 
to  the  lonely  life  of  the  ice-bound  post  as  they  arrived  at  it, 
delivered  their  message,  and  again  departed. 

KEEL   AND    CANOE. 

The  transition  from  winter  to  spring  is  a  very  rapid  one  on 
the  plains  of  Rupert's  Land.  The  ice  upon  the  rivers  and 
lakes  becomes  honey-combed  and  disappears  very  soon.  The 
rebound  from  the  icy  torpor  of  winter  to  the  active  life  of  the 
season  that  combines  spring  and  summer  is  marvellous.  No 
sooner  were  the  waterways  open  in  the  fur-trading  days  than 
freight  was  hurried  from  one  part  of  the  country  to  another  by 
means  of  inland  or  York  boats. 

These  boats,  it  will  be  remembered,  were  introduced  by 
Governor  Simpson,  who  found  them  more  safe  and  economical 
than  the  canoe  generally  in  use  before  his  time. 

Each  of  these  boats  could  carry  three  or  four  tons  of  freight, 
and  was  manned  by  nine  men,  one  of  them  being  steersman, 
the  remainder,  men  for  the  oar.  Four  to  eight  of  these  craft 
made  up  a  brigade,  and  the  skill  and  rapidity  with  which  these 
boats  could  be  loaded  or  unloaded,  carried  past  a  portage  or 
decharge,  guided  through  rapids  or  over  considerable  stretches 
of  the  lakes,  was  the  pride  of  their  Indian  or  half-breed 


THE    PRAIRIES  363 

tripsmeri,  as  they  were  called,  or  the  admiration  of  the  officers 
dashing  past  them  in  their  speedy  cano. 

The  route  from  York  Factory  to  Fort  Garry  being  a  long  and 
continuous  waterway,  was  a  favourite  course  for  the  York  boat 
brigade.  Many  of  the  settlers  of  the  Red  River  settlement 
became  well-to-do  by  commanding  brigades  of  boats  and  carry- 
ing freight  for  the  Company.  In  the  earlier  days  of  Governor 
Simpson  the  great  part  of  the  furs  from  the  interior  were 
carried  to  Fort  Garry  or  the  Grand  Portage,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Saskatchewan,  and  thence  past  Norway  House  to  Hudson 
Bay.  From  York  Factory  a  load  of  general  merchandise  was 
brought  back,  which  had  been  cargo  in  the  Company's  ship 
from  the  Thames  to  York.  Lake  Winnipeg  is  generally  clear 
of  ice  early  in  June,  and  the  first  brigade  would  then  start 
with  its  seven  or  eight  boats  laden  to  the  gunwales  with  furs  ; 
a  week  after,  the  second  brigade  was  under  way,  and  thus,  at 
intervals  to  keep  clear  of  each  other  in  crossing  the  portages, 
the  catch  of  the  past  season  was  carried  out.  The  return  witli 
full  supplies  for  the  settlers  was  earnestly  looked  for,  and 
the  voyage  both  ways,  including  stoppages,  took  some  nine 
weeks. 

Far  up  into  the  interior  the  goods  in  bales  were  taken.  One 
of  the  best  known  routes  was  that  of  what  was  called,  "  The 
Portage  Brigade/'  This  ran  from  Lake  Winnipeg  up  the 
Saskatchewan  northward,  past  Cumberland  House  and  lie 
a  la  Crosse  to  Methy  Portage,  otherwise  known  as  Portage 
la  Loche,  where  the  waters  part,  on  one  side  going  to  Hudson's 
Bay,  on  the  other  flowing  to  the  Arctic  Sea.  The  trip  made 
from  Fort  Garry  to  Portage  la  Loche  and  return  occupied 
about  four  months.  At  Portage  la  Loche  the  brigade  from 
the  Mackenzie  River  arrived  in  time  to  meet  that  from  the 
south,  and  was  itself  soon  in  motion,  carrying  its  year's  supply 
of  trading  articles  for  the  Far  North,  not  even  leaving  out 
Peel's  River  and  the  Yukon. 

The  frequent  transhipments  required  in  these  long  and 
dangerous  routes  led  to  the  secure  packing  of  bales,  of  about 
one  hundred  pounds  each,  each  of  them  being  called  an 
"  inland  piece."  Seventy-five  made  up  the  cargo  of  a  York 
boat.  The  skill  with  which  these  boats  could  be  laden  was 


364  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY    COMPANY 

surprising.     A  good  half-breed  crew  of  nine  men  was  able  to 
oad  a  boat  and  pack  the  pieces  securely  in  five  minutes. 

The  boat's  crew  was  under  the  command  of  the  steersman, 
who  sat  on  a  raised  platform  in  the  stern  of  the  boat.  At  the 
portages  it  was  the  part  of  the  steersman  to  raise  each  piece 
from  the  ground  and  place  two  of  them  on  the  back  of  each 
tripsman,  to  be  held  in  place  by  the  "  portage  strap  "  on  the 
forehead.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  position  of  the  captain  was 
no  sinecure.  One  of  the  eight  tripsmen  was  known  as  "  bows- 
man/'  In  running  rapids  he  stood  at  the  bow,  and  with  a 
light  pole  directed  the  boat,  giving  information  by  word  and 
sign  to  the  steersman.  The  position  of  less  responsibility 
though  great  toil  was  that  of  the  "  middlemen,"  or  rowers. 
When  a  breeze  blew,  a  sail  hoisted  in  the  boat  lightened  their 
labours.  The  captain  or  steersman  of  each  boat  was  respon- 
sible to  the  "  guide,"  who,  as  a  commander  of  the  brigade, 
was  a  man  of  much  experience,  and  consequently  held  a 
position  of  some  importance.  Such  were  the  means  of  trans- 
port over  the  vast  water  system  of  Rupert's  Land  up  to  the 
year  1869,  although  some  years  before  that  time  transport  by 
land  to  St.  Paul  in  Minnesota  had  reached  large  proportions. 
Since  the  date  named,  railway  and  steamboat  have  directed 
trade  into  new  channels,  for  even  Mackenzie  River  now  has  a 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  steamboat. 

CABT  AND   CAYUSE. 

The  lakes  and  rivers  were  not  sufficient  to  carry  on  the 
trade  of  the  country.  Accordingly,  land  transport  became  a 
necessity.  If  the  Ojibeway  Indians  found  the  birch  bark 
canoe  and  the  snowshoe  so  useful  that  they  assigned  their 
origin  to  the  Manitou,  then  certainly  it  was  a  happy  thought 
when  the  famous  Red  River  cart  was  similarly  evolved. 
These  two -wheeled  vehicles  are  entirely  of  wood,  without  any 
iron  whatever. 

The  wheels  are  large,  being  five  feet  in  diameter,  and  are 
three  inches  thick.  The  felloes  are  fastened  to  one  another  by 
tongues  of  wood,  and  pressure  in  revolving  keeps  them  from 
falling  apart.  The  hubs  are  thick  and  very  strong.  -The  axles 
are  wood  alone,  and  even  the  lynch  pins  are  wooden.  A  light 


THE    PRAIRIES  365 

box  frame,  tightened  by  wooden  pegs,  is  fastened  by  the  same 
agency  and  poised  upon  the  axle.  The  price  of  a  cart  in  Red 
River  of  old  was  two  pounds. 

The  harness  for  the  horse  which  drew  the  cart  was  made  of 
roughly-tanned  ox  hide,  which  was  locally  known  as  "  shag- 
ganappe." The  name  "  shagganappe  "  has  in  later  years 
been  transferred  to  the  small-sized  horse  used,  which  is  thus 
called  a  "  shagganappe  pony." 

The  carts  were  drawn  by  single  ponies,  or  in  some  cases  by 
stalwart  oxen.  These  oxen  were  harnessed  and  wore  a  collar, 
not  the  barbarous  yoke  which  the  ox  has  borne  from  time 
immemorial.  The  ox  in  harness  has  a  swing  of  majesty  as  he 
goes  upon  his  journey.  The  Indian  pony,  with  a  load  of  four 
or  five  hundred  pounds  in  a  cart  behind  him,  will  go  at  a 
measured  jog-trot  fifty  or  sixty  miles  a  day.  Heavy  freighting 
carts  made  a  journey  of  about  twenty  miles  a  day,  the  load 
being  about  eight  hundred  pounds. 

A  train  of  carts  of  great  length  was  sometimes  made  to  go 
upon  some  long  expedition,  or  for  protection  from  the  thievish 
or  hostile  bands  of  Indians.  A  brigade  consisted  of  ten  carts, 
under  the  charge  of  three  men.  Five  or  six  more  brigades 
were  joined  in  one  train,  and  this  was  placed  under  the  charge 
of  a  guide,  who  was  vested  with  much  authority.  He  rode 
on  horseback  forward,  marshalling  his  forces,  including  the 
management  of  the  spare  horses  or  oxen,  which  often  amounted 
to  twenty  per  cent,  of  the  number  of  those  drawing  the  carts. 
The  stopping-places,  chosen  for  good  grass  and  a  plentiful 
supply  of  water,  the  time  of  halting,  the  management  of 
brigades,  and  all  the  details  of  a  considerable  camp  were  under 
the  care  of  this  officer-in-chief. 

One  of  the  most  notable  cart  trails  and  freighting  roads  on 
the  prairies  was  that  from  Fort  Garry  to  St.  Paul,  Minnesota. 
This  was  an  excellent  road,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Red  River, 
through  Dakota  territory  for  some  two  hundred  miles,  and 
then,  by  crossing  the  Red  River  into  Minnesota,  the  road  led 
for  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  down  to  St.  Paul.  The  writer, 
who  came  shortly  after  the  close  of  the  fifty  years  we  are 
describing,  can  testify  to  the  excellence  of  this  road  over  the 
level  prairies.  At  the  period  when  the  Sioux  Indians  were  in 


366  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

revolt  and  the  massacre  of  the  whites  took  place  in  1862,  this 
route  was  dangerous,  and  the  road,  though  not  so  smooth  and 
not  so  dry,  was  followed  on  the  east  side  of  the  Red  River. 

Every  season  about  three  hundred  carts,  employing  one 
hundred  men,  departed  from  Fort  Garry  to  go  upon  the  "  tip," 
as  it  was  called,  to  St.  Paul,  or  in  later  times  to  St.  Cloud, 
when  the  railway  had  reached  that  place.  The  visit  of  this 
band  coming  from  the  north,  with  their  wooden  carts,  ' '  shag- 
ganappe  "  ponies,  and  harnessed  oxen,  bringing  huge  bales  of 
precious  furs,  awakened  great  interest  in  St.  Paul.  The  late 
J.  W.  Taylor,  who  for  about  a  quarter  of  a  century  held  the 
position  of  American  Consul  at  Winnipeg,  and  who,  on  account 
of  his  interest  in  the  North-West  prairies,  bore  the  name  of 
"  Saskatchewan  Taylor,"  was  wont  to  describe  most  graphi- 
cally the  advent,  as  he  saw  it,  of  this  strange  expedition, 
coming,  like  a  Midianitish  caravan  in  the  East,  to  trade  at  the 
central  mart.  On  Sundays  they  encamped  near  St.  Paul. 
There  was  the  greatest  decorum  and  order  in  camp  ;  their 
religious  demeanour,  their  honest  and  well-to-do  appearance, 
and  their  peaceful  disposition  were  an  oasis  in  the  desert  of  the 
wild  and  reckless  inhabitants  of  early  Minnesota. 

Another  notable  route  for  carts  was  that  westward  from 
Fort  Garry  by  way  of  Fort  Ellice  to  Carlton  House,  a  distance 
of  some  five  hundred  miles.  It  will  be  remembered  that  it 
was  by  this  route  that  Governor  Simpson  in  early  days, 
Palliser,  Milton,  and  Cheadle  found  their  way  to  the  West.  In 
later  days  the  route  was  extended  to  Edmonton  House,  a 
thousand  miles  in  all.  It  was  a  whole  summer's  work  to 
make  the  trip  to  Edmonton  and  return. 

On  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  reserve  of  five  hundred 
acres  around  Fort  Garry  was  a  wide  camping-ground  for  the 
"trippers"  and  traders.  Day  after  day  was  fixed  for  the 
departure,  but  still  the  traders  lingered.  After  much  leave- 
taking,  the  great  train  started.  It  was  a  sight  to  be  remem- 
bered. The  gaily -comparisoned  horses,  the  hasty  farewells, 
the  hurry  of  women  and  children,  the  multitude  of  dogs,  the 
balky  horses,  the  subduing  and  harnessing  and  attaching  of 
the  restless  ponies,  all  made  it  a  picturesque  day. 

The  train  in  motion  appealed  not  only  to  the  eye,  but  to  the 


THE    PRAIRIES  367 

ear  as  well,  the  wooden  axles  creaked,  and  the  creaking  of  a 
train  with  every  cart  contributing  its  dismal  share,  could  be 
heard  more  than  a  mile  away.  In  the  Far-West  the  early 
traders  used  the  cayuse,  or  Indian  pony,  and  "  travoie,"  for 
transporting  burdens  long  distances.  The  "  travoie  "  con- 
sisted of  twro  stout  poles  fastened  together  over  the  back  of  the 
horse,  and  dragging  their  lower  ends  upon  the  ground.  Great 
loads — almost  inconceivable,  indeed — were  thus  carried  across 
the  pathless  prairies.  The  Red  River  cart  and  the  Indian 
cayuse  were  the  product  of  the  needs  of  the  prairies. 

PLAIN    HUNTERS    AND   THE    BUFFALO. 

A  generation  had  passed  since  the  founding  of  the  Selkirk 
settlement,  and  the  little  handful  of  Scottish  settlers  had 
become  a  community  of  five  thousand.  This  growth  had  not 
been  brought  about  by  immigration,  nor  by  natural  increase, 
but  by  what  may  be  called  a  process  of  accretion.  Through- 
out the  whole  of  Rupert's  Land  and  adjoining  territories  the 
employes  of  the  Company,  whether  from  Lower  Canada  or 
from  the  Orkney  Islands,  as  well  as  the  clerks  and  officers  of 
the  country,  had  intermarried  with  the  Indian  women  of  the 
tribes. 

When  the  trader  or  Company's  servant  had  gained  a  com- 
petence suited  to  his  ideas,  he  thought  it  right  to  retire  from 
the  active  fur  trade  and  float  down  the  rivers  to  the  settlement, 
which  the  first  Governor  of  Manitoba  called  the  "  Paradise  of 
Red  River."  Here  the  hunter  or  officer  procured  a  strip  of 
land  from  the  Company,  on  it  erected  a  house  for  the  shelter 
of  his  "dusky  race/'  and  engaged  in  agriculture,  though  his 
former  life  largely  unfitted  him  for  this  occupation.  In  this 
way,  four-fifths  of  the  population  of  the  settlement  were  half- 
breeds,  with  their  own  traditions,  sensibilities,  and  prejudices 
—the  one  part  of  them  speaking  French  with  a  dash  of  Cree 
mixed  with  it,  the  other  English  which,  too,  had  the  form  of  a 
Red  River  patois. 

We  have  seen  that  tripping  and  hunting  gave  a  livelihood  to 
some,  if  not  the  great  majority,  but  these  occupations  unfitted 
men  for  following  the  plough.  In  addition  there  was  no 
market  for  produce,  so  that  agriculture  did  not  in  general 


368  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

thrive.  One  of  the  favourite  features  of  Red  River,  which 
fitted  in  thoroughly  with  the  roving  traditions  of  the  large  part 
of  the  population,  was  the  annual  buffalo  hunt,  which,  for 
those  who  engaged  in  it,  occupied  a  great  portion  of  the 
summer. 

We  have  the  personal  reminiscences  of  the  hunt  by  Alex- 
ander Ross,  sometime  sheriff  of  Assiniboia,  which,  as  being 
lively  and  graphic,  are  worthy  of  being  reproduced. 

Ross  says  :  '  Buffalo  hunting  here,  like  bear  baiting  in 
India,  has  become  a  popular  and  favourite  amusement  among 
all  classes  ;  and  Red  River,  in  consequence,  has  been  brought 
into  some  degree  of  notice  by  the  presence  of  strangers  from 
foreign  countries.  We  are  now  occasionally  visited  by  men  of 
science  as  well  as  men  of  pleasure.  The  war  road  of  the  savage 
and  the  solitary  haunt  of  the  bear  have  of  late  been  resorted  to 
by  the  florist,  the  botanist,  and  the  geologist ;  nor  is  it  un- 
common nowadays  to  see  officers  of  the  Guards,  knights, 
baronets,  and  some  of  the  higher  nobility  of  England  and  other 
countries  coursing  their  steeds  over  the  boundless  plains  and 
enjoying  the  pleasures  of  the  chase  among  the  half-breeds  and 
savages  of  the  country.  Distinction  of  rank  is,  of  course,  out 
of  the  question,  and  at  the  close  of  the  adventurous  day  all 
squat  down  in  merry  mood  together,  enjoying  the  social  free- 
dom of  equality  round  Nature's  table  and  the  novel  treat  of  a 
fresh  buffalo  steak  served  up  in  the  style  of  the  country,  that  is 
to  say,  roasted  on  a  forked  stick  before  the  fire  ;  a  keen  appe- 
tite their  only  sauce,  cold  water  their  only  beverage.  Looking 
at  this  assemblage  through  the  medium  of  the  imagination, 
the  mind  is  led  back  to  the  chivalric  period  of  former  days, 
when  chiefs  and  vassals  took  counsel  together.  .  .  . 

"  With  the  earliest  dawn  of  spring  the  hunters  are  in  motion 
like  bees,  and  the  colony  in  a  state  of  confusion,  from  their 
going  to  and  fro,  in  order  to  raise  the  wind  and  prepare  them- 
selves for  the  fascinating  enjoyments  of  hunting.  It  is  now 
that  the  Company,  the  farmers,  the  petty  traders  are  all  besefr 
by  their  incessant  and  irresistible  importunities.  The  plain 
mania  brings  everything  else  to  a  stand.  One  wants  a  horse, 
another  an  axe,  a  third  a  cart  ;  they  want  ammunition,  they 
want  clothing,  they  want  provisions  ;  and  though  people  refuse 


THE   PRAIRIES  369 

one  or  two  they  cannot  deny  a  whole  population,  for,  indeed, 
over-much  obstinacy  would  not  be  unattended  with  risk.  Thus 
the  settlers  are  reluctantly  dragged  into  profligate  speculation. 

"  The  plain  hunters,  finding  they  can  get  whatever  they 
want  without  ready  money,  are  led  into  ruinous  extravagances  ; 
but  the  evil  of  the  long  credit  system  does  not  end  here.  .  .  . 
So  many  temptations,  so  many  attractions  are  held  out  to 
the  thoughtless  and  giddy,  so  fascinating  is  the  sweet  air  of 
freedom,  that  even  the  offspring  of  the  Europeans,  as  well  as 
natives,  are  often  induced  to  cast  off  their  habits  of  industry 
and  leave  their  comfortable  homes  to  try  their  fortunes  in  the 
plains. 

' '  The  practical  result  of  all  this  may  be  stated  in  a  few  words. 
After  the  expedition  starts  there  is  not  a  man-servant  or  maid- 
servant to  be  found  in  the  colony.  At  any  season  but  seed- 
time and  harvest-time,  the  settlement  is  literally  swarming 
with  idlers  ;  but  at  these  urgent  periods  money  cannot  procure 
them. 

"  The  actual  money  value  expended  on  one  trip,  estimating 
also  their  lost  time,  is  as  follows  :— 


1210  carte  (in  1840)      .... 
620  hunters  (two  months)  at  Is.  a  day 
650  women  (two  months)  at  9d. 
360  boys  and  girls  (two  months)  at  4d. 
403  buffalo  runners  (horses)  at  151.    . 
655  cart  horses  at  81.          ... 
586  draught  oxen  at  61. 


£1815 
1860 
1460 
360 
6045 
5240 
3516 

Guns,  gunpowder,  knives,  axes,  harness,  camp  equi- 
page, and  utensils  (estimate  approaching)       .         .     3700 

Say  £24,000 

"  From  Fort  Garry,  June  15th,  1840,  the  cavalcade  and 
followers  went  crowding  on  to  the  public  road,  and  thence, 
stretching  from  point  to  point,  till  the  third  day  in  the  evening, 
when  they  reached  Pembina  (sixty  miles  south  of  Fort  Garry), 
the  great  rendezvous  on  such  occasions.  When  the  hunters 
leave  the  settlement  it  enjoys  that  relief  which  a  person  feels 
on  recovering  from  a  long  and  painful  sickness.  Here,  on 
a  level  plain,  the  whole  patriarchal  camp  squatted  down  like 
pilgrims  on  a  journey  to  the  Holy  Land  in  ancient  days,  only 
not  quite  so  devout,  for  neither  scrip  nor  staff  were  consecrated 

Bb 


370  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

for  the  occasion.  Here  the  roll  was  called  and  general  muster 
taken,  when  they  numbered  on  this  occasion  1,630  souls  ;  and 
here  the  rules  and  regulations  for  the  journey  were  finally 
settled.  The  officials  for  the  trip  were  named  and  installed 
into  office,  and  all  without  the  aid  of  writing  materials. 

"  The  camp  occupied  as  much  ground  as  a  modern  city,  and 
was  formed  in  a  circle.  All  the  carts  were  placed  side  by  side, 
the  trams  outward.  Within  this  line  of  circumvallation,  the 
tents  were  placed  in  double,  treble  rows,  at  one  end,  the 
animals  at  the  other,  in  front  of  the  tents.  This  is  the  order  in 
all  dangerous  places,  but  where  no  danger  is  apprehended,  the 
animals  are  kept  on  the  outside.  Thus  the  carts  formed  a 
strong  barrier,  not  only  for  securing  the  people  and  their 
animals  within,  but  as  a  place  of  shelter  and  defence  against  an 
attack  of  the  enemy  from  without. 

In  1820  the  number  of  carts  assembled  for  the  first  trip  was  .  540 

„  1825            „            „            „            ,,            „            „  .  680 

„  1830            „            „            „            „            „            „  .  820 

,,  looo           ,,           ,,           j,           »           ,,           *,  •  y/u 

„  1840            „            „            „            „            „            „  .  1210 

"  There  is  another  appendage  belonging  to  the  expedition, 
and  these  are  not  always  the  least  noisy,  viz.  the  dogs  or  camp 
followers.  On  the  present  occasion  they  numbered  no  fewer 
than  542.  In  deep  snow,  where  horses  cannot  conveniently  be 
used,  dogs  are  very  serviceable  animals  to  the  hunters  in  these 
parts.  The  half-breed,  dressed  in  his  wolf  costume,  tackles 
two  or  three  sturdy  curs  into  a  flat  sled,  throws  himself  on  it  at 
full  length,  and  gets  among  the  buffalo  unperceived.  Here  the 
bow  and  arrow  play  their  part  to  prevent  noise.  And  here  the 
skilful  hunter  kills  as  many  as  he  pleases,  and  returns  to 
camp  without  disturbing  the  band. 

"  But  now  to  the  camp  again — the  largest  of  the  kind, 
perhaps,  in  the  world.  The  first  step  was  to  hold  a  council  for 
the  nomination  of  chiefs  or  officers  for  conducting  the  expedi- 
tion. Ten  captains  were  named,  the  senior  on  this  occasion 
being  Jean  Baptiste  Wilkie,  an  English  half-breed,  brought  up 
among  the  French,  a  man  of  good  sound  sense  and  long  experi- 
ence, and  withal  a  fine,  bold-looking,  and  discreet  fellow,  a 
second  Nimrod  in  his  way. 


THE   PRAIRIES  371 

"  Besides  being  captain,  in  common  with  the  others,  he  was 
styled  the  great  war  chief  or  head  of  the  camp,  and  on  all 
public  occasions  he  occupied  the  place  of  president.  All 
articles  of  property  found  without  an  owner  were  carried  to  him 
and  he  disposed  of  them  by  a  crier,  who  went  round  the  camp 
every  evening,  were  it  only  an  awl.  Each  captain  had  ten 
soldiers  under  his  orders,  in  much  the  same  way  as  policemen 
are  subject  to  the  magistrate.  Ten  guides  were  likewise 
appointed,  and  here  we  may  remark  that  people  in  a  rude  state 
of  society,  unable  either  to  read  or  write,  are  generally  partial 
to  the  number  ten.  Their  duties  were  to  guide  the  camp  each 
in  his  turn — that  is  day  about — during  the  expedition.  The 
camp  flag  belongs  to  the  guide  of  the  day  ;  he  is  therefore 
standard  bearer  in  virtue  of  his  office. 

"  The  hoisting  of  the  flag  every  morning  is  the  signal  for 
raising  camp.  Half  an  hour  is  the  full  time  allowed  to  prepare 
for  the  march  ;  but  if  anyone  is  sick  or  their  animals  have 
strayed,  notice  is  sent  to  the  guide,  who  halts  till  all  is  made 
right.  From  the  time  the  flag  is  hoisted,  however,  till  the  hour 
of  camping  arrives  it  is  never  taken  down.  The  flag  taken  down 
is  a  signal  for  encamping.  While  it  is  up  the  guide  is  chief  of 
the  expedition.  Captains  are  subject  to  him,  and  the  soldiers 
of  the  day  are  his  messengers  ;  he  commands  all.  The  mo- 
ment the  flag  is  lowered  his  functions  cease,  and  the  captains' 
and  soldiers'  duties  commence.  They  point  out  the  order  of 
the  camp,  and  every  cart  as  it  arrives  moves  to  its  appointed 
place.  This  business  usually  occupies  about  the  same  time  as 
raising  camp  in  the  morning  ;  for  everything  moves  with  the 
regularity  of  clockwork. 

"  All  being  ready  to  leave  Pembina,  the  captains  and  other 
chief  men  hold  another  council  and  lay  down  the  rules  to  be 
observed  during  the  expedition.  Those  made  on  the  present 
occasion  were  : — 

(1)  No  buffalo  to  be  run  on  the  Sabbath  day. 

(2)  No  party  to  fork  off,  lag  behind,  or  go  before,  without 
permission. 

(3)  No  person  or  party  to  run  buffalo  before  the  general  order. 

(4)  Every  captain  with  his  men  in  turn  to  patrol  the  camp 
and  keep  guard. 


372  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

(5)  For  the  first  trespass  against  these  laws,  the  offender  to 
have  his  saddle  and  bridle  cut  up. 

(6)  For  the  second  offence  the  coat  to  be  taken  off  the 
offender's  back  and  to  be  cut  up. 

(7)  For  the  third  offence  the  offender  to  be  flogged. 

(8)  Any  person  convicted  of  theft,  even  to  the  value  of  a 
sinew,  to  be  brought  to  the  middle  of  the  camp,  and  the  crier 
to  call  out  his  or  her  name  three  times,  adding  the  word 
'  Thief  '  at  each  time. 

"  On  the  21st  the  start  was  made,  and  the  picturesque  line  of 
march  soon  stretched  to  the  length  of  some  five  or  six  miles  in 
the  direction  of  south-west  towards  Cote  a  Pique.  At  2  p.m. 
the  flag  was  struck,  as  a  signal  for  resting  the  animals.  After 
a  short  interval  it  was  hoisted  again,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the 
whole  line  was  in  motion,  and  continued  the  route  till  five  or 
six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  when  the  flag  was  hauled  down  as  a 
signal  to  encamp  for  the  night.  Distance  travelled,  twenty 
miles. 

"  The  camp  being  formed,  all  the  leading  men,  officials,  and 
others  assembled,  as  the  general  custom  is,  on  some  rising 
ground  or  eminence  outside  the  ring,  and  there  squatted  them- 
selves down,  tailor-like,  on  the  grass  in  a  sort  of  council, 
each  having  his  gun,  his  smoking  bag  in  his  hand,  and  his  pipe 
in  his  mouth.  In  this  situation  the  occurrences  of  the  day 
were  discussed,  and  the  line  of  march  for  the  morrow  agreed 
upon.  This  little  meeting  was  full  of  interest,  and  the  fact 
struck  me  very  forcibly  that  there  is  happiness  and  pleasure  in 
the  society  of  the  most  illiterate  men,  sympathetically  if  not 
intellectually  inclined,  as  well  as  among  the  learned,  and  I 
must  say  I  found  less  selfishness  and  more  liberality  among 
these  ordinary  men  than  I  had  been  accustomed  to  find  in 
higher  circles.  Their  conversation  was  free,  practical,  and 
interesting,  and  the  time  passed  on  more  agreeably  than  could 
be  expected  among  such  people,  till  we  touched  on  politics. 

"  Of  late  years  the  field  of  chase  has  been  far  from  Pembina, 
and  the  hunters  do  not  so  much  as  know  in  what  direction 
they  may  find  the  buffalo,  as  these  animals  frequently  shift 
their  ground.  It  is  a  mere  leap  in  the  dark,  whether  at  the 
outset  the  expedition  takes  the  right  or  the  wrong  road  ;  and 


THE   PRAIRIES  373 

their  luck  in  the  chase,  of  course,  depends  materially  on  the 
choice  they  make.  The  year  of  our  narrative  they  travelled  a 
south-west  or  middle  course,  being  the  one  generally  preferred, 
since  it  leads  past  most  of  the  rivers  near  their  sources,  where 
they  are  easily  crossed.  The  only  inconvenience  attending  this 
choice  is  the  scarcity  of  wood,  which  in  a  warm  season  is  but  a 
secondary  consideration. 

"  Not  to  dwell  on  the  ordinary  routine  of  each  day's  journey, 
it  was  the  ninth  day  from  Pembina  before  we  reached  the 
Cheyenne  River,  distant  only  about  150  miles,  and  as  yet  we 
had  not  seen  a  single  band  of  buffalo.  On  July  3rd,  our  nine- 
teenth day  from  the  settlement,  and  at  a  distance  of  little  more 
than  250  miles,  we  came  in  sight  of  our  destined  hunting 
grounds,  and  on  the  day  following  we  had  our  first  buffalo  race. 
Our  array  in  the  field  must  have  been  a  grand  and  imposing 
one  to  those  who  had  never  seen  the  like  before.  No  less 
than  400  huntsmen,  all  mounted,  and  anxiously  waiting  for  the 
word  *  Start  !  '  took  up  their  position  in  a  line  at  one  end  of 
the  camp,  while  Captain  Wilkie,  with  his  spyglass  at  his  eye, 
surveyed  the  buffalo,  examined  the  ground,  and  issued  his 
orders.  At  eight  o'clock  the  whole  cavalcade  broke  ground, 
and  made  for  the  buffalo  ;  first  at  a  slow  trot,  then  at  a  gallop, 
and  lastly  at  full  speed.  Their  advance  was  over  a  dead  level, 
the  plain  having  no  hollow  or  shelter  of  any  kind  to  conceal 
their  approach.  We  need  not  answer  any  queries  as  to  the 
feeling  and  anxiety  of  the  camp  on  such  an  occasion.  When 
the  horsemen  started  the  cattle  might  have  been  a  mile  and  a 
half  ahead,  but  they  had  approached  to  within  four  or  five 
hundred  yards  before  the  bulls  curved  their  tails  or  pawed  the 
ground.  In  a  moment  more  the  herd  took  flight,  and  horse 
and  rider  are  presently  seen  bursting  in  among  them.  Shots 
are  heard,  and  all  is  smoke,  dash,  and  hurry.  The  fattest  are 
first  singled  out  for  slaughter,  and  in  less  time  than  we  have 
occupied  with  the  description,  a  thousand  carcases  strew  the 
plain. 

"  The  moment  the  animals  take  to  flight  the  best  runners 
dart  forward  in  advance.  At  this  moment  a  good  horse  is 
invaluable  to  his  owner,  for  out  of  the  400  on  this  occasion,  not 
above  fifty  got  the  first  chance  of  the  fat  cows.  A  good  horse 


374  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

and  an  experienced  rider  will  select  and  kill  from  ten  to  twelve 
animals  at  one  heat,  while  inferior  horses  are  contented  with 
two  or  three.  But  much  depends  on  the  nature  of  the  ground. 
On  this  occasion  the  surface  was  rocky,  and  full  of  badger 
holes.  Twenty-three  horses  and  riders  were  at  one  moment 
sprawling  on  the  ground.  One  horse,  gored  by  a  bull,  was 
killed  on  the  spot,  two  men  disabled  by  the  fall.  One  rider 
broke  his  shoulder  blade  ;  another  burst  his  gun  and  lost  three 
of  his  fingers  by  the  accident ;  and  a  third  was  struck  on  the 
knee  by  an  exhausted  ball.  These  accidents  will  not  be 
thought  over-numerous  considering  the  result ;  for  in  the 
evening  no  less  than  1,375  buffalo  tongues  were  brought 
into  camp. 

"  The  rider  of  a  good  horse  seldom  fires  till  within  three  or 
four  yards  of  his  object,  and  never  misses.  And,  what  is 
admirable  in  point  of  training,  the  moment  the  shot  is  fired 
his  steed  springs  on  one  side  to  avoid  stumbling  over  the 
animal,  whereas  an  awkward  and  shy  horse  will  not  approach 
within  ten  or  fifteen  yards,  consequently  the  rider  has  often  to 
fire  at  random  and  not  infrequently  misses.  Many  of  them, 
however,  will  fire  at  double  that  distance  and  make  sure  of 
every  shot.  The  mouth  is  always  full  of  balls  ;  they  load  and 
fire  at  the  gallop,  and  but  seldom  drop  a  mark,  although  some 
do  to  designate  the  animal. 

"  Of  all  the  operations  which  mark  the  hunter's  life  and  are 
essential  to  his  ultimate  success,  the  most  perplexing,  perhaps, 
is  that  of  finding  out  and  identifying  the  animals  he  kills 
during  a  race.  Imagine  400  horsemen  entering  at  full  speed 
a  herd  of  some  thousands  of  buffalo,  all  in  rapid  motion. 
Riders  in  clouds  of  dust  and  volumes  of  smoke  which  darken 
the  air,  crossing  and  recrossing  each  other  in  every  direction  ; 
shots  on  the  right,  on  the  left,  behind,  before,  here,  there,  two, 
three,  a  dozen  at  a  time,  everywhere  in  close  succession,  at 
the  same  moment.  Horses  stumbling,  riders  falling,  dead  and 
wounded  animals  tumbling  here  and  there,  one  over  the  other  ; 
and  this  zigzag  and  bewildering  melke  continued  for  an  hour 
or  more  together  in  wild  confusion.  And  yet,  from  practice, 
so  keen  is  the  eye,  so  correct  the  judgment,  that  after  getting 
to  the  end  of  the  race,  he  can  not  only  tell  the  number  of 


THE  PRAIRIES  375 

animals  which  he  had  shot  down,  but  the  position  in  which 
each  lies — on  the  right  or  on  the  left  side — the  spot  where 
the  shot  hit,  and  the  direction  of  the  ball  ;  and  also  retrace  his 
way,  step  by  step,  through  the  whole  race  and  recognize  every 
animal  he  had  the  fortune  to  kill,  without  the  least  hesitation 
or  difficulty.  To  divine  how  this  is  accomplished  bewilders 
the  imagination. 

"  The  main  party  arrived  on  the  return  journey  at  Pembina 
on  August  17th,  after  a  journey  of  two  months  and  two  days. 
In  due  time  the  settlement  was  reached,  and  the  trip  being  a 
successful  one,  the  returns  on  this  occasion  may  be  taken  as  a 
fair  annual  average.  An  approximation  to  the  truth  is  all  we 
can  arrive  at,  however.  Our  estimate  is  nine  hundred  pounds 
weight  of  buffalo  meat  per  cart,  a  thousand  being  considered 
the  full  load,  which  gives  one  million  and  eighty-nine  thousand 
pounds  in  all,  or  something  more  than  two  hundred  pounds 
weight  for  each  individual,  old  and  young,  in  the  settlement. 
As  soon  as  the  expedition  arrived,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
according  to  usual  custom,  issued  a  notice  that  it  would  take  a 
certain  specified  quantity  of  provisions,  not  from  each  fellow 
that  had  been  on  the  plains,  but  from  each  old  and  recognized 
hunter.  The  established  price  at  this  period  for  the  three 
kinds  over  head,  fat,  pemmican,  and  dried  meat,  was  two  pence 
a  pound.  This  was  then  the  Company's  standard  price  ;  but 
there  is  generally  a  market  for  all  the  fat  they  bring.  During 
the  years  1839,  1840,  and  1841,  the  Company  expended  five 
thousand  pounds  on  the  purchase  of  plain  provisions,  of  which 
the  hunters  got  last  year  the  sum  of  twelve  hundred  pounds, 
being  rather  more  money  than  all  the  agricultural  class 
obtained  for  their  produce  in  the  same  year.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  the  Company's  demand  affords  the  only 
regular  market  or  outlet  in  the  Colony,  and,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  it  is  the  first  supplied." 


CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

LIFE  ON  THE  SHORES  OF  HUDSON  BAY  AND  LABRADOR. 

The  bleak  shores  unprogressive — Now  as  at  the  beginning — York 
Factory — Description  of  Ballantyne — The  weather — Summer 
comes  with  a  rush — Picking  up  subsistence — The  Indian  trade — 
Inhospitable  Labrador — Establishment  of  Ungava  Bay — McLean 
at  Fort  Chimo — Herds  of  cariboo — Eskimo  crafts — "  Shadowy 
Tartarus  " — The  king's  domains — Mingan — Mackenzie — The  Gulf 
settlements — The  Moravians — Their  four  missions — Rigolette, 
the  chief  trading  post — A  school  for  developing  character — Chief 
Factor  Donald  A.  Smith — Journeys  along  the  coast — A  barren 
shore. 

LIFE  on  the  shores  of  Hudson  Bay  is  as  unchangeable  as  the 
shores  and  scenery  of  the  coast  are  monotonous.  The  swampy, 
treeless  flats  that  surround  the  Bay  simply  change  from  the 
frozen,  snow-clad  expanse  which  stretches  as  far  as  the  eye  can 
see  in  winter,  to  the  summer  green  of  the  unending  grey 
willows  and  stunted  shrubs  that  cover  the  swampy  shores. 
For  a  few  open  months  the  green  prevails,  and  then  nature  for 
eight  months  assumes  her  winding  sheet  of  icy  snow. 

For  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  life  has  been  as  unvarying 
on  these  wastes  as  travellers  tell  us  are  the  manners  and 
customs  of  living  of  the  Bedouins  on  their  rocky  Araby.  No 
log  shanties  give  way  in  a  generation  to  the  settler's  house, 
and  then  to  the  comfortable,  well-built  stone  or  brick  dwelling, 
which  the  fertile  parts  of  America  so  readily  permit.  The 
accounts  of  McLean,  Rae,  Ryerson,  and  Ballantyne  of  the 
middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  are  precisely  those  of  Robson, 
Ellis,  or  Hearne  of  the  eighteenth  century,  or  indeed  practically 
those  of  the  early  years  of  the  Company  in  the  seventeenth 
century. 

The  ships  sail  from  Gravesend  on  the  Thames  with  the  same 
ceremonies,  with  the  visit  and  dinner  of  the  committee  of  the 

376 


LIFE  ON  THE  SHORES  OF  HUDSON  BAY     377 

directors,  the  "  great  guns,"  as  the  sailors  call  them,  as  they 
have  done  for  two  centuries  and  a  quarter,  from  the  days  of 
Zachariah  Gillam  and  Pierre  Esprit  Radisson.  No  more 
settlement  is  now  seen  on  Hudson  Bay  than  in  the  early  time, 
unless  it  be  in  the  dwellings  of  the  Christianized  and  civilized 
swampy  Crees  and  in  the  mission  houses  around  which  the 
Indians  have  gathered. 

York  Factory,  up  to  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
retained  its  supremacy.  However,  at  times,  Fort  Churchill, 
with  its  well-built  walls  and  formidable  bastions,  may  have 
disputed  this  primacy,  yet  York  Factory  was  the  depot  for  the 
interior  almost  uninterruptedly.  To  it  came  the  goods  for  the 
northern  department,  by  way  in  a  single  season  of  the  vessel 
the  Prince  Rupert,  the  successor  of  a  long  line  of  Prince 
Ruperts,  from  the  first  one  of  1680,  or  of  its  companions,  the 
Prince  Albert  or  the  Prince  of  Wales.  By  these,  the  furs  from 
the  Far  North  found  their  way,  as  at  the  first,  to  the  Company's 
house  in  London. 

York  Factory  is  a  large  square  of  some  six  acres,  lying  along 
Hayes  River,  and  shut  in  by  high  stockades.  The  houses  are 
all  wooden,  and  on  account  of  the  swampy  soil  are  raised  up 
to  escape  the  water  of  the  spring-time  floods.  At  a  point  of 
advantage,  a  lofty  platform  was  erected  to  serve  as  a  "  look- 
out "  to  watch  for  the  coming  ship,  the  great  annual  event  of 
the  slow-passing  lives  of  the  occupants  of  the  post.  The  flag- 
staff, on  which,  as  is  the  custom  at  all  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
posts,  the  ensign  with  the  magic  letters  H.  B.  C.  floats,  speaks 
at  once  of  many  an  old  tradition  and  of  great  achievements. 

Ballantyne  in  his  lively  style  speaks  of  his  two  years  at  the 
post,  and  describes  the  life  of  a  young  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
officer.  The  chief  factor,  to  the  eye  of  the  young  clerk, 
represents  success  achieved  and  is  the  embodiment  of  author- 
ity, which,  on  account  of  the  isolation  of  the  posts  and  the 
absence  of  all  law,  is  absolute  and  unquestioned.  York 
Factory,  being  a  depot,  has  a  considerable  staff,  chiefly  young 
men,  who  live  in  the  bachelors'  hall.  Here  dwell  the  surgeon, 
accountant,  postmaster,  half  a  dozen  clerks,  and  others. 

In  wfnter,  Ballantyne  says,  days,  if  not  weeks,  passed 
without  the  arrival  of  a  visitor,  unless  it  were  a  post  from  the 


378  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

interior,  or  some  Cree  trader  of  the  neighbourhood,  or  some 
hungry  Indian  seeking  food.  The  cold  was  the  chief  feature  of 
remark  and  consideration.  At  times  the  spirit  thermometer 
indicated  65  deg.  below  zero,  and  the  uselessness  of  the 
mercury  thermometer  was  then  shown  by  a  pot  of  quicksilver 
being  made  into  bullets  and  remaining  solid.  Every  precau- 
tion was  taken  to  erect  strong  buildings,  which  had  double 
windows  and  double  doors,  and  yet  in  the  very  severe  weather, 
water  contained  in  a  vessel  has  been  known  to  freeze  in  a  room 
where  a  stove  red  hot  was  doing  its  best.  It  is  worthy  of 
notice,  however,  that  even  in  Arctic  regions,  a  week  or  ten  days 
is  as  long  as  such  severe  weather  continues,  and  mild  intervals 
come  regularly. 

On  the  Bay  the  coming  of  spring  is  looked  for  with  great 
expectation,  and  when  it  does  come,  about  the  middle  of  May, 
it  sets  in  with  a  "  rush  ;  "  the  sap  rises  in  the  shrubs  and  bushes, 
the  buds  burst  out,  the  rivers  are  freed  from  ice,  and  indeed,  so 
rapid  and  complete  is  the  change,  that  it  may  be  said  there  are 
only  two  seasons — summer  and  winter — in  these  latitudes. 

As  summer  progresses  the  fare  of  dried  geese,  thousands  of 
which  are  stored  away  for  winter  use,  of  dflk  fish  and  the 
white  ptarmigan  and  wood  partridge  that  linger  about  the 
bushes  and  are  shot  for  food,  is  superseded  by  the  arrival  of 
myriads  of  ducks  and  geese  and  the  use  of  the  fresh  fish  of  the 
Bay.  In  many  of  the  posts  the  food  throughout  the  whole  year 
is  entirely  flesh  diet,  and  not  a  pound  of  farinaceous  food  is 
obtainable.  This  leads  to  an  enormous  consumption  of  the 
meat  diet  in  order  to  supply  a  sufficient  amount  of  nourish- 
ment. An  employe  will  sometimes  eat  two  whole  geese  at  a 
meal. 

In  Dr.  Rae's  celebrated  expedition  from  Fort  Churchill, 
north  along  the  shore  of  Hudson  Bay,  on  his  search  for  Sir 
John  Franklin,  the  amount  of  supplies  taken  was  entirely  in- 
adequate for  his  party  for  the  long  period  of  twenty-seven 
months,  being  indeed  only  enough  for  four  months'  full  rations. 
In  Rae's  instructions  from  Sir  George  Simpson  it  is  said,  "  For 
the  remaining  part  of  your  men  you  cannot  fail  to  find  sub- 
sistence, animated  as  you  are  and  they  are  by  a  determination 
to  fulfil  your  mission  at  the  cost  of  danger,  fatigue,  and  priva- 


MAP    OF   LABRADOR    AND    THE    KING'S    DOMAINS. 


LIFE  ON  THE  SHORES  OF  HUDSON  BAY     379 

tion.  Whenever  the  natives  can  live,  I  can  have  no  fears  with 
respect  to  you,  more  particularly  as  you  will  have  the  advan- 
tage of  the  Eskimos,  not  merely  in  your  actual  supplies,  but 
also  in  the  means  of  recruiting  and  renewing  them." 

The  old  forts  still  remained  in  addition  to  the  two  depot 
posts,  York  and  Moose  Factory,  there  being  Churchill,  Severn, 
Rupert's  House,  Fort  George,  and  Albany — and  the  life  in 
them  all  of  the  stereotyped  description  which  we  have  pic- 
tured. Besides  the  preparation  in  summer  of  supplies  for  the 
long  winter,  the  only  variety  was  the  arrival  of  Indians  with 
furs  from  the  interior.  The  trade  is  carried  on  by  means  of 
well-known  standards  called  the  "  castor  "  or  "  beaver."  The 
Indian  hands  his  furs  over  to  the  trader,  who  sorts  them  into 
different  lots.  The  value  is  counted  up  at  so  many — say 
fifty — castors.  The  Indian  then  receives  fifty  small  bits  of 
wood,  and  with  these  proceeds  to  buy  guns,  knives,  blankets, 
cloth,  beads,  or  trinkets,  never  stopping  till  his  castors  are  all 
exhausted.  The  castor  rarely  exceeds  two  shillings  in  value. 

While  resembling  in  its  general  features  the  life  on  the  Bay, 
the  conduct  of  the  fur  trader  on  the  shore  of  Labrador  and 
throughout  the  Labrador  Peninsula  is  much  more  trying  and 
laborious  than  around  the  Bay.  The  inhospitable  climate,  the 
heavy  snows,  the  rocky,  dangerous  shore,  and  the  scarcity  in 
some  parts  of  animal  life,  long  prevented  the  fur  companies 
from  venturing  upon  this  forbidding  coast. 

The  northern  part  of  Labrador  is  inhabited  by  Eskimos  ; 
further  south  are  tribes  of  swampy  Crees.  Between  the 
Eskimos  and  Indians  deadly  feuds  long  prevailed.  The  most 
cruel  and  bloody  raids  were  made  upon  the  timid  Eskimos,  as 
was  done  on  the  Coppermine  when  Hearne  wrent  on  his  famous 
expedition. 

McLean  states  that  it  was  through  the  publication  of  a 
pamphlet  by  the  Moravian  missionaries  of  Labrador,  which 
declared  that  "  the  country  produced  excellent  furs,"  that  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  led  to  establish  trading  posts  in 
Northern  Labrador.  The  stirring  story  of  "  Ungava,"  written 
by  Ballantyne,  gives  what  is  no  doubt  in  the  main  a  correct 
account  of  the  establishment  of  the  far  northern  post  called 
1 '  Fort  Chimo, "  on  Ungava  Bay. 


380  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

The  expedition  left  Moose  Factory  in  1831,  and  after  escap- 
ing the  dangers  of  floating  ice,  fierce  storms,  and  an  unknown 
coast,  erected  the  fort  several  miles  up  the  river  running  into 
Ungava  Bay.  The  story  recalls  the  finding  out,  no  doubt 
somewhat  after  the  manner  of  the  famous  boys'  book,  ' '  The 
Swiss  Family  Robinson/'  the  trout  and  salmon  of  the  waters, 
the  walrus  of  the  sea,  and  the  deer  of  the  mountain  valleys,  but 
the  picture  is  not  probably  overdrawn.  The  building  of  Fort 
Chimo  is  plainly  described  by  one  who  was  familiar  with 
the  exploration  and  life  of  the  fur  country  ;  the  picture  of  the 
tremendous  snowstorm  and  its  overwhelming  drifts  is  not  an 
unlikely  one  for  this  coast,  which,  since  the  day  of  Cortereal, 
has  been  the  terror  of  navigators. 

McLean,  a  somewhat  fretful  and  biassed  writer,  though 
certainly  not  lacking  in  a  clear  and  lively  style,  gives  an 
account  of  his  being  sent,  in  1837,  to  take  charge  of  the  district 
of  North  Labrador  for  the  Company.  On  leaving  York  Fac- 
tory in  August  the  brig  encountered  much  ice,  although  it 
escaped  the  mishaps  which  overtook  almost  all  small  vessels  on 
the  Bay.  The  steep  cliffs  of  the  island  of  Akpatok,  which 
stands  before  Ungava  Bay,  were  very  nearly  run  upon  in  the 
dark,  and  much  difficulty  was  experienced  in  ascending  the 
Ungava,  or  South  River,  to  Fort  Chimo. 

The  trader's  orders  from  Governor  Simpson  were  to  push 
outposts  into  the  interior  of  Labrador,  to  support  his  men  on 
the  resources  of  the  country,  and  to  open  communication  with 
Esquimaux  Bay,  on  the  Labrador  coast,  and  thus,  by  means  of 
the  rivers,  to  establish  an  inland  route  of  intercommunication 
between  the  two  inlets.  McLean  made  a  most  determined 
attempt  to  establish  the  desired  route,  but  after  innumerable 
hardships  to  himself  and  his  company,  retired,  after  nearly 
four  months'  efforts,  to  Fort  Chimo,  and  sent  a  message  to  his 
superior  officer  that  the  proposed  line  of  communication  was 
impracticable. 

McLean  gives  an  account  of  the  arrival  of  a  herd  of  three 
hundred  reindeer  or  cariboo,  and  of  the  whole  of  them  being 
captured  in  a  "  pound,"  as  is  done  in  the  case  of  the  buffalo. 
The  trader  was  also  visited  by  Eskimos  from  the  north  side 
of  Hudson  Strait,  who  had  crossed  the  rough  and  dangerous 


LIFE  ON  THE  SHORES  OF  HUDSON  BAY     381 

passage  on  "  a  raft  formed  of  pieces  of  driftwood  picked  up 
along  the  shore."  The  object  of  their  visit  was  to  obtain  wood 
for  making  canoes.  The  trader  states  that  the  fact  of  these 
people  having  crossed  "  Hudson's  Strait  on  so  rude  and  frail  a 
conveyance  "  strongly  corroborates  the  opinion  that  America 
was  originally  peopled  from  Asia  by  way  of  Behring's  Strait. 

It  became  more  and  more  evident,  however,  that  the  Ungava 
trade  could  not  be  profitably  continued.  Great  expense  was 
incurred  in  supplying  Ungava  Bay  by  sea  ;  the  country  was 
poor  and  barren,  and  the  pertinacity  of  the  Eskimos  in  adhering 
to  their  sealskin  dresses  made  the  trade  in  fabrics,  which  was 
profitable  among  the  Indians,  an  impossibility  at  Ungava. 
McLean  continued  his  explorations  and  was  somewhat  success- 
ful in  opening  the  sought-for  route  by  way  of  the  Grand  River, 
and,  returning  to  Fort  Chimo,  wintered  there.  Having  been 
promoted  by  Sir  George  Simpson,  McLean  obtained  leave  to 
visit  Britain,  and  before  going  received  word  from  the  direc- 
tors of  the  Company  that  his  recommendation  to  abandon 
Ungava  Bay  had  been  accepted,  and  that  the  ship  would  call 
at  that  point  and  remove  the  people  and  property  to  Esquim- 
aux Bay.  McLean,  in  speaking  of  the  weather  of  Hudson 
Straits  during  the  month  of  January  (1842),  gives  expression  to 
his  strong  dislike  by  saying,  "  At  this  period  I  have  neither 
seen,  read,  nor  heard  of  any  locality  under  heaven  that  can 
offer  a  more  cheerless  abode  to  civilized  man  than  Ungava." 

Referring  also  to  the  fog  that  so  abounds  at  this  point  as  well 
as  at  the  posts  around  Hudson  Bay,  the  discontented  trader 
says  :  "  If  Pluto  should  leave  his  own  gloomy  mansion  in  tene- 
bris  Tartari,  he  might  take  up  his  abode  here,  and  gain  or  lose 
but  little  by  the  exchange." 

But  the  enterprising  fur-traders  were  not  to  be  deterred  by 
the  iron-bound  coast,  or  foggy  shores,  or  dangerous  life  of 
any  part  of  the  peninsula  of  Labrador.  Early  in  the  century, 
while  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  were  penetrating  southward 
from  the  eastern  shore  of  Hudson  Bay,  which  had  by  a  kind 
of  anomaly  been  called  the  "  East  Main,"  the  North- West 
Company  were  occupying  the  north  shore  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
and  met  their  rivals  at  the  head  waters  of  the  Saguenay. 

The  district  of  which  Tadousac  was  the  centre  had  from  the 


382  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

earliest  coming  of  the  French  been  noted  for  its  furs.  That 
district  all  the  way  down  to  the  west  end  of  the  island  of  Anti- 
costi  was  known  as  the  "  King's  Domains."  The  last  parish 
was  called  Murray  Bay,  from  General  Murray,  the  first  British 
governor  of  Quebec,  who  had  disposed  of  the  district,  which 
furnished  beef  and  butter  for  the  King,  to  two  of  his  officers, 
Captains  Nairn  and  Fraser. 

The  North-West  Company,  in  the  first  decade  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  had  leased  this  district,  which  along  with  the 
Seigniory  of  Mingan  that  lay  still  further  down  the  Gulf  of 
St.  Lawrence,  was  long  known  as  the  * '  King's  Posts."  Beyond 
the  Seigniory  of  Mingan,  a  writer  of  the  period  mentioned 
states  that  the  Labrador  coast  had  been  left  unappropriated, 
and  was  a  common  to  which  all  nations  at  peace  with  England 
might  resort,  unmolested,  for  furs,  oil,  cod-fish,  and  salmon. 

A  well-known  trader,  James  McKenzie,  after  returning  from 
the  Athabasca  region,  made,  in  1808,  a  canoe  journey  through 
the  domains  of  the  King,  and  left  a  journal,  with  his  description 
of  the  rocky  country  and  its  inhabitants.  He  pictures  strongly 
the  one-eyed  chief  of  Mingan  and  Father  Labrosse,  the  Nestor 
for  twenty-five  years  of  the  King's  posts,  who  was  priest, 
doctor,  and  poet  for  the  region.  McKenzie's  voyage  chiefly 
inclined  him  to  speculate  as  to  the  origin  and  religion  of  the 
natives,  while  his  description  of  the  inland  Indians  and  their 
social  life  is  interesting.  His  account  of  the  manners  and 
customs  of  the  Montagners  or  Shore  Indians  was  more  de- 
tailed than  that  of  the  Nascapees,  or  Indians  of  the  interior, 
and  he  supplies  us  with  an  extensive  vocabulary  of  their  lan- 
guage. 

McKenzie  gives  a  good  description  of  the  Saguenay  River,  of 
Chicoutimi,  and  Lake  St.  John,  and  of  the  ruins  of  a  Jesuit 
establishment  which  had  flourished  during  the  French  regime. 
Whilst  the  bell  and  many  implements  had  been  dug  up  from 
the  scene  of  desolation,  the  plum  and  apple  trees  of  their  garden 
were  found  bearing  fruit.  From  the  poor  neglected  fort  of 
Assuapmousoin  McKenzie  returned,  since  the  fort  of  Mis- 
tassini  could  only  be  reached  by  a  further  journey  of  ninety 
leagues.  This  North-West  post  was  built  at  the  end  of  Lake 
Mistassini,  while  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  Fort,  called  Birch 


LIFE  ON  THE  SHORES  OF  HUDSON  BAY     383 

Point,  was  erected  four  days'  journey  further  on  toward  East 
Main  House. 

Leaving  the  Saguenay,  McKenzie  followed  the  coast  of  the 
St.  Lawrence,  passing  by  Portneuf,  with  its  beautiful  chapel, 
"  good  enough  for  His  Holiness  the  Pope  to  occupy,"  after 
which — the  best  of  the  King's  posts  for  furs — He  Jeremie  was 
reached,  with  its  buildings  and  chapels  on  a  high  eminence. 
Irregularly  built  Godbout  was  soon  in  view,  and  the  Seven 
Islands  Fort  was  then  come  upon.  Mingan  was  the  post  of 
which  McKenzie  was  most  enamoured.  Its  fine  harbour  and 
pretty  chapel  drew  his  special  attention.  The  "  Man  River  " 
was  famous  for  its  fisheries,  while  Masquaro,  the  next  port,  was 
celebrated  for  the  supply  of  beavers  and  martins  in  its  vicinity. 
The  salmon  entering  the  river  in  the  district  are  stated  to  be 
worthy  of  note,  and  the  traveller  and  his  company  returned  to 
Quebec,  the  return  voyage  being  two  hundred  leagues. 

Since  the  time  of  McKenzie  the  fur  trade  has  been  pushed 
along  the  formerly  unoccupied  coast  of  Labrador.  Even  before 
that  time  the  far  northern  coast  had  been  taken  up  by  a  bravo 
band  of  Moravians,  who  supported  themselves  by  trade,  and  at 
the  same  time  did  Christian  work  among  the  Eskimos.  Their 
movement  merits  notice.  As  early  as  1749  a  brave  Hollander 
pilot  named  Erhardt,  stimulated  by  reading  the  famous  book  of 
Henry  Ellis  on  the  North -West  Passage,  made  an  effort  to  form 
a  settlement  on  the  Labrador  coast.  He  lost  his  life  among 
the  deceitful  Eskimos. 

Years  afterward,  Count  Zinzendorf  made  application  to  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  to  be  allowed  to  send  Moravian  mis- 
sionaries to  the  different  Hudson's  Bay  Company  posts.  The 
union  of  trader  and  missionary  in  the  Moravian  cult  made  the 
Company  unwilling  to  grant  this  request.  After  various 
preparations  the  Moravians  took  up  unoccupied  ground  on  the 
Labrador  coast,  in  56  deg.  36'  N.,  where  they  found  plenty  of 
wood,  runlets  of  sparkling  water  and  a  good  anchorage.  They 
erected  a  stone  marked  G.R.  III.,  1770,  for  the  King,  and 
another  with  the  inscription  V.F.  (Unitas  fratrum),  the  name 
of  their  sect. 

Their  first  settlement  was  called  Nain,  and  it  was  soon 
followed  by  another  thirty  miles  up  the  coast  known  as 


384  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

"  Okkak."  Thirty  miles  south  of  Nain  they  found  remains  of 
the  unfortunate  movement  first  made  by  the  Society,  and  here 
they  established  a  mission,  calling  it '  *  Hopedale."  When  they 
had  become  accustomed  to  the  coast,  they  showed  still  more 
of  the  adventurous  spirit  and  founded  their  most  northerly 
post  of  Hebron,  well  nigh  up  to  the  dreaded  "  Ungava 
Bay/'  A  community  of  upwards  of  eleven  hundred  Christian 
Eskimos  has  resulted  from  the  fervour  and  self-denial  of  these 
humble  but  faithful  missionaries.  Their  courage  and  deter- 
mination stand  well  beside  that  of  the  daring  fur  traders. 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  not  satisfied  with  Mingan 
as  their  farthest  outward  point.  In  1832  and  1834,  Captain 
Bayfield,  R.N.,  surveyed  the  Labrador  coast.  In  due  time  the 
Company  pushed  on  to  the  inlet  known  as  Hamilton  Inlet  or 
Esquimaux  Bay,  on  the  north  side  of  which  the  fort  grew  up, 
know  as  Rigolette.  Here  a  farm  is  maintained  stocked  with 
"  Cattle,  sheep,  pigs  and  hens,"  and  the  place  is  the  depot  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and  of  the  general  trade  of  the 
coast.  Farther  up  two  other  sub-posts  are  found,  viz.,  Aillik, 
and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Inlet  Kaipokok.  The  St. 
Lawrence  and  Labrador  posts  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
have  been  among  the  most  difficult  and  trying  of  those  in  any 
part  where  the  Company  carries  on  its  vast  operations  from 
Atlantic  to  Pacific.  This  Labrador  region  has  been  a  noble 
school  for  the  development  of  the  firmness,  determination, 
skill,  and  faithfulness  characteristic  of  both  the  officers  and 
men  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

Most  notable  of  the  officers  of  the  first  rank  who  have  con- 
ducted the  fur  trade  in  Labrador  is  Lord  Strathcona  and  Mount 
Royal,  the  present  Governor  of  the  Company.  Coming  out  at 
eighteen,  Donald  Alexander  Smith,  a  well-educated  Scottish 
lad,  related  to  Peter  and  Cuthbert  Grant,  and  the  brothers 
John  and  James  Stuart,  prominent  officers,  whose  deeds 
in  the  North-West  Company  are  still  remembered,  the  future 
Governor  began  his  career.  Young  Smith,  on  arriving  at 
Montreal  (1838),  was  despatched  to  Moose  Factory,  and  for 
more  than  thirty  years  was  in  the  service,  in  the  region  of 
Hudson  Bay  and  Labrador.  Rising  to  the  rank  of  chief 
trader,  after  fourteen  years  of  laborious  service  he  reached  in 


LIFE  ON  THE  SHORES  OF  HUDSON  BAY     385 

ten  years  more  the  acme  of  desire  of  every  aspirant  in  the 
Company,  the  rank  of  chief  factor.  His  years  on  the  coast  of 
Labrador,  at  Rigolette,  and  its  subordinate  stations  were  most 
laborious.  The  writer  has  had  the  privilege  from  time  to  time 
of  hearing  his  tales,  of  the  long  journey  along  the  frozen  coast, 
of  camping  on  frozen  islands,  without  shelter,  of  storm-staid 
journeys  rivalling  the  recitals  of  Ballantyne  at  Fort  Chimo,  of 
cold  receptions  by  the  Moravians,  and  of  the  doubtful  hospi- 
talities of  both  Indians  and  Eskimos.  Every  statement  of 
Cortereal,  Gilbert,  or  Cabot  of  the  inhospitable  shore  is  corro- 
borated by  this  successful  officer,  who  has  lived  for  thirty 
years  since  leaving  Labrador  to  fill  a  high  place  in  the  affairs 
both  of  Canada  and  the  Empire.  One  of  his  faithful  subor- 
dinates on  this  barren  coast  was  Chief  Factor  P.  W.  Bell,  who 
gained  a  good  reputation  for  courage  and  faithfulness,  not  only 
in  Labrador,  but  on  the  barren  shore  of  Lake  Superior.  The 
latter  returned  to  Labrador  after  his  western  experience,  and 
retired  from  the  charge  of  the  Labrador  posts  a  few  years  ago. 
It  is  to  the  credit  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  that  it  has 
been  able  to  secure  men  of  such  calibre  and  standing  to  man 
even  its  most  difficult  and  unattractive  stations. 


C  c 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 

ATHABASCA,   MACKENZIE   RIVER,   AND   THE   YUKON. 

Peter  Pond  reaches  Athabasca  River — Fort  Chipewyan  established — 
Starting-point  of  Alexander  McKenzie — The  Athabasca  library 
— The  Hudson  Bay  Company  roused — Conflict  at  Fort  Wedder- 
burn — Suffering — The  dash  up  the  Peace  River — Fort  Dunvegan 
— Northern  extension — Fort  Resolution — Fort  Providence — The 
great  river  occupied — Loss  of  life — Fort  Simpson,  the  centre — 
Fort  Reliance — Herds  of  cariboo — Fort  Norman  built — Fort 
Good  Hope — The  Northern  Rockies — The  Yukon  reached  and 
occupied — The  fierce  Liard  River — Fort  Halkett  in  the  mountains 
— Robert  Campbell  comes  to  the  Stikine — Discovers  the  Upper 
Yukon — His  great  fame — The  districts — Steamers  on  the  water 
stretches. 
(The  map  on  page  384  should  be  consulted  while  this  chapter  is 

being  read.) 

LESS  than  twenty  years  after  the  conquest  of  Canada  by  the 
British,  the  traders  heard  of  the  Lake  Athabasca  and  Mac- 
kenzie River  district.  The  region  rapidly  rose  into  notice, 
until  it- reached  the  zenith  as  the  fur  traders'  paradise,  a  posi- 
tion it  has  held  till  the  present  time. 

As  we  have  seen,  Samuel  Hearne,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany adventurer — the  Mungo  Park  of  the  North — first  of 
white  men,  touched,  on  his  way  to  the  Coppermine,  Lake 
Athapuscow,  now  thought  to  have  been  Great  Slave  Lake. 

It  was  the  good  fortune,  however,  of  the  North-West  Com- 
pany to  take  possession  of  this  region  first  for  trade. 

LAKE   AND   RIVER   ATHABASCA. 

The  daring  Montreal  traders,  who  had  seized  upon  the  Sas- 
katchewan and  pushed  on  to  Lake  He  a  la  Crosse,  having  a 
surplus  of  merchandise  in  the  year  1778,  despatched  one  of 
their  agents  to  Lake  Athabasca,  and  "  took  seisin  "  of  the 
country.  As  already  stated,  the  man  selected  was  the  daring 

386 


ATHABASCA,  MACKENZIE  RIVER,   YUKON    387 

and  afterwards  violent  trader  Peter  Pond.  On  the  River 
Athabasca,  some  thirty  miles  south  of  the  Lake,  Pond  built 
the  first  Indian  trading  post  of  the  region,  which,  however,  after 
a  few  years  was  abandoned  and  never  afterwards  rebuilt. 

FORT   CHIPEWYAN. 

Less  than  ten  years  after  this  pioneer  led  the  way,  a  fort 
was  built  on  the  south  side  of  Lake  Athabasca,  at  a  point  a  few 
miles  east  of  the  entrance  of  the  river.  To  this,  borrowing  the 
name  of  the  Indian  nation  of  the  district,  was  given  the  name 
Fort  Chipewyan.  This  old  fort  became  celebrated  as  the 
starting-place  of  the  great  expedition  of  Alexander  Mackenzie, 
when  he  discovered  the  river  that  bears  his  name  and  the 
Polar  Sea  into  which  it  empties.  At  this  historic  fort  also, 
Roderick  McKenzie,  cousin  of  the  explorer,  founded  the 
famous  "  Athabasca  Library,"  for  the  use  of  the  officers  of  the 
Company  in  the  northern  posts,  and  in  its  treasures  Lieutenant 
Lefroy  informs  us  he  revelled  during  his  winter  stay. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  century  the  X  Y  Company  aggres- 
sively invaded  the  Athabasca  region,  and  built  a  fort  a  mile 
north  of  Fort  Chipewyan,  near  the  site  of  the  present  Roman 
Catholic  Mission  of  the  Nativity. 

As  the  conflict  between  the  North-West  and  Hudson's  Bay 
Companies  waxed  warm,  the  former  Company,  no  doubt  for 
the  purpose  of  being  more  favourably  situated  for  carrying  on 
the  trade  with  the  Mackenzie  River,  removed  their  fort  on 
Lake  Athasbaca  to  the  commanding  promontory  near  the  exit 
of  Slave  River  from  the  lake.  Renewed  and  often  enlarged, 
Fort  Chipewyan  has  until  recently  remained  the  greatest  depot 
of  the  north  country. 

THE  HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY  AROUSED. 

The  fierceness  of  the  struggle  for  the  fur  trade  may  be  seen 
in  the  fact  that  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  (1815)  with 
vigour  took  up  a  site  on  an  island  in  front  of  Fort  Chipewyan 
and  built  Fort  Wedderburn,  at  no  greater  distance  than  a  single 
mile,  and  though  it  was  not  their  first  appearance  on  the  lake, 
yet  they  threw  themselves  in  considerable  force  into  the 


388  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

contest,  numbering,  under  John  Clark,  afterward  Chief  Factor, 
ten  clerks,  a  hundred  men,  and  fourteen  large  canoes  loaded 
with  supplies.  Many  misfortunes  befell  the  new  venture  of 
the  Company.  A  writer  of  the  time  says,  "  No  less  than 
fifteen  men,  one  woman,  and  several  children  perished  by 
starvation.  They  built  four  trade  posts  on  the  Peace  River 
(lower)  and  elsewhere  in  the  autumn  ;  but  not  one  of  them  was 
able  to  weather  out  the  following  winter.  All  were  obliged  to 
come  to  terms  with  their  opponents  to  save  the  party  from 
utter  destruction.  That  year  the  Athabasca  trade  of  the 
North-West  Company  was  four  hundred  packs  against  only 
five  in  all  secured  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

Three  years  afterward  the  old  Company,  with  British  pluck, 
again  appeared  on  this  lake,  having  nineteen  loaded  canoes. 
Trader  Clark  was  now  accompanied  by  the  doughty  leader, 
Colin  Robertson,  whose  prowess  we  have  already  seen  in  the 
Red  River  conflict. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  in  the  year  before  the  union  of 
the  Companies,  George  Simpson,  the  young  clerk,  arrived  on 
Lake  Athabasca  with  fifteen  loaded  canoes.  He  was  chiefly 
found  at  Fort  Wedderburn  and  a  short  distance  up  the  Peace 
River.  It  is  not  certain  that  the  prospective  Governor  ever 
visited  Slave  Lake  to  the  north.  He  gives,  however,  the  follow- 
ing vivid  summary  of  his  winter's  experience  in  Athabasca  : 
"  At  some  seasons  both  whites  and  Indians  live  in  wasteful 
abundance  on  venison,  buffalo  meat,  fish,  and  game  of  all 
kinds,  while  at  other  times  they  are  reduced  to  the  last  degree 
of  hunger,  often  passing  several  days  without  food.  In  the 
year  1820  our  provisions  fell  short  at  the  establishment,  and  on 
two  or  three  occasions  I  went  for  two  or  three  whole  days  and 
nights  without  having  a  single  morsel  to  swallow,  but  then 
again,  I  was  one  of  a  party  of  eleven  men  and  one  woman 
which  discussed  at  one  sitting  meal  no  less  than  three  ducks 
and  twenty-two  geese  !  "  This  winter's  knowledge  was  of 
great  value  to  the  man  afterwards  called  to  be  the  arbiter  of 
destiny  of  many  a  hard-pressed  trader. 

Other  forts  are  mentioned  as  having  been  established  by 
both  Companies  at  different  points  on  the  Athabasca  River,  but 
their  period  of  duration  was  short.  In  some  cases  these 


MAP   OF   MACKENZIE   RIVER    AND    THE    YUKON. 


[Page  388. 


ATHABASCA,    MACKENZIE  RIVER,    YUKON    389 

abandoned  forts  have  been  followed  by  new  forts,  in  recent 
times,  on  the  same  sites. 

THE    PEACE   RIVER. 

Soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  first  traders  in  the  Athabasca 
district,  the  fame  of  the  Peace  River — the  Indian  "  Unjijah," 
a  mighty  stream,  whose  waters  empty  into  the  river  flowing 
from  Lake  Athabasca — rose  among  the  adventurers.  An  enter- 
prising French  Canadian  trader,  named  Boyer,  pushed  up  the 
stream  and  near  a  small  tributary — Red  River — established 
the  first  post  of  this  great  artery,  which  flows  from  the  West, 
through  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Long  abandoned,  this  post  has 
in  late  years  been  re-established. 

The  Peace  River  has  ever  had  a  strange  fascination  for 
trader  and  tourist,  and  a  few  years  after  Boyer's  establishment 
became  known,  a  trading  house  was  built  above  the  "  Chutes  5> 
of  the  river.  This  was  afterwards  moved  some  distance  up 
stream  and  became  the  well-known  Fort  Vermilion.  This  fort 
has  remained  till  the  present  day. 

Farther  still  up  the  Peace  River,  where  the  Smoky  River 
makes  its  forks,  a  fort  was  erected  whose  stores  and  dwelling- 
houses  were  on  a  larger  scale  than  those  of  the  mother  estab- 
lishment of  Fort  Chipewyan,  having  had  stockaded  walls, 
a  good  powder  magazine,  and  a  good  well  of  water.  This  fort 
for  a  time  was  known  as  McLeod's  Fort,  but  in  the  course  of 
events  its  site  was  abandoned.  Fort  Dunvegan,  famous  to 
later  travellers,  was  first  built  on  the  south  side  of  the  river, 
and  was  the  head -quarters  of  the  Beaver  Indians,  from  whom 
the  North-West  Company  received  a  formal  gift  of  the  site. 
The  present  fort  is  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Peace  River. 

It  will  be  remembered,  however,  that  it  was  from  the  post 
at  the  mouth  of  Smoky  River  that  Alexander  Mackenzie, 
having  wintered,  started  on  his  great  journey  to  the  Pacific. 
In  later  years  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  has  maintained  a 
fort  at  this  point  as  an  outpost  of  Dunvegan. 

Early  in  the  century  we  find  allusions  to  the  fact  that  the 
catch  of  beaver  was,  from  over-hunting,  declining  in  the  Peace 
River  country,  and  that,  in  consequence,  the  North-West 
Company  had  been  compelled  to  give  up  several  of  their 


390  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

forts.  Around  Fort  St.  John's  a  tragic  interest  gathers. 
John  McLean,  in  his  "  Notes  of  a  Twenty-five  Years'  Service," 
speaks  of  reaching  on  his  Journey — 1833 — the  "  tenantless 
fort/'  where  some  years  before  a  massacre  had  taken  place. 
It  had  been  determined  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  to 
remove  the  fort  to  Rocky  Mountain  Portage.  The  tribe  of 
Tsekanies,  to  whom  the  fort  was  tributary,  took  this  as  an 
insult.  At  the  time  of  removal  the  officer  in  charge,  Mr. 
Hughes,  had  sent  off  a  part  of  his  men  with  effects  of  the 
fort  intended  for  the  new  post.  Hughes  was  shot  down  on 
the  riverside  by  the  Indians.  The  party  of  boatmen,  on 
returning,  "  altogether  unconscious  of  the  fate  that  awaited 
them,  came  paddling  towards  the  landing-place,  singing  a 
voyageur's  song,  and  just  as  the  canoe  touched  the  shore,  a 
volley  of  bullets  was  discharged  at  them,  which  silenced  them 
for  ever.  They  were  all  killed  on  the  spot/'  An  expedition 
was  organized  by  the  traders  to  avenge  the  foul  murder,  but 
more  peaceful  counsels  prevailed.  Most  of  the  fugitives  paid 
the  penalty  of  their  guilt  by  being  starved  to  death.  The 
deserted  fort  was  some  twenty  miles  below  the  present  Fort 
St.  John's.  The  present  fort  was  built  in  the  latter  half  of 
the  century,  and  its  outpost  of  Hudson's  Hope,  together  with 
the  trade  station  at  Battle  River,  below  Dunvegan,  was 
erected  about  a  generation  ago. 

GREAT   SLAVE   LAKE. 

The  extension  of  the  fur  trade  to  Great  Slave  Lake  dates 
back  to  within  seven  years  after  the  advent  of  Peter  Pond 
on  the  Athabasca  River.  The  famous  trader,  Cuthbert  Grant, 
father  of  the  "  Warden  of  the  Plains,"  who  figured  in  the 
Seven  Oaks  fight,  led  the  way,  and  with  him  a  Frenchman, 
Laurent  Leroux.  Reaching  this  great  lake,  these  ardent 
explorers  built  a  trading  post  on  Slave  River,  near  its  mouth. 
A  short  time  afterwards  the  traders  moved  their  first  post  to 
Moose  Deer  Island,  a  few  miles  from  the  old  site,  and  here 
the  North -West  Company  remained  until  the  time  of  the 
union  of  the  Companies.  The  impulse  of  union  led  to  the 
construction  of  a  new  establishment  on  the  site  chosen  by  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  for  the  erection  of  their  post  some 


ATHABASCA,  MACKENZIE  RIVER,  YUKON    391 

six  years  before.  The  new  post  was  called  Fort  Resolution, 
and  was  on  the  mainland  two  miles  or  more  from  the  island. 
This  post  marked  the  extreme  limit  of  the  operations  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  up  to  the  time  of  the  union. 

When  Alexander  Mackenzie  determined  to  make  his  first 
great  voyage,  he  started  from  Fort  Chipewyan  and  bravely 
pushing  out  into  the  unknown  wilds,  left  Great  Slave  Lake  and 
explored  the  river  that  bears  his  name.  Here  he  promised  the 
tribe  of  the  Yellow  Knife  Indians  to  establish  a  post  among 
them  in  the  next  year.  The  promise  was  kept  to  the  letter. 
The  new  post,  built  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellow  Knife  River, 
was  called  Fort  Providence.  It  was  afterwards  removed  to  a 
large  island  in  the  north  arm  of  the  lake,  and  to  this  the  name 
Fort  Rae,  in  honour  of  the  celebrated  Arctic  explorer,  John 
Rae,  was  given.  Near  this  new  station  there  has  been  for 
years  a  Roman  Catholic  Mission.  It  was  from  the  neighbour- 
hood of  these  forts  on  the  lake  that  Captain  Franklin  set  out  to 
build  his  temporary  station,  Fort  Enterprise,  one  hundred 
miles  from  his  base  of  supplies.  Fort  Rae  has  remained  since 
the  time  of  its  erection  a  place  of  some  importance.  It  formed 
the  centre  of  the  northern  operations  of  Captain  Dawson,  R.A., 
on  Ms  expedition  for  circumpolar  observation  in  recent  times. 

Alter  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had  transferred  Rupert's 
Lana  to  Canada,  a  new  post  was  opened  on  the  Slave  River, 
midway  between  Athabasca  and  Great  Slave  Lake.  It  was 
called  Fort  Smith,  in  honour  of  Chief  Commissioner  Donald  A. 
Smith,  now  Lord  Strathcona  and  Mount  Royal.  Near  the  site 
of  For,  Smith  are  the  dangerous  Noye  Raids  of  Slave  Ri  er, 
where  Grant  and  Leroux,  on  their  voyage  to  Great  Slave  Lake, 
lost  a  sanoe  and  five  of  its  occupants.  From  Fort  Smith 
southward  to  Smith  Landing  a  waggon  or  cart  road  has  been  in 
use  up  ,o  the  present  time.  Now  this  is  to  be  converted 
into  a  trimway. 

MACKENZIE   RIVER. 

Northwxrd  the  course  of  the  fur  traders'  empire  has  continu- 
ally made  its  way.  Leaving  Great  Slave  Lake  four  years 
before  the  «lose  of  the  eighteenth  century,  along  the  course  of 
Alexander  llackenzie's  earlier  exploration,  Duncan  Livingston, 


392  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

a  North-West  Company  trader,  built  the  first  fort  on  the  river 
eighty  miles  north  of  the  lake.  Three  years  later  the  trader, 
his  three  French -Canadian  voyageurs  and  Indian  interpreter, 
were  basely  killed  by  the  Eskimos  on  the  Lower  Mackenzie 
River.  A  year  or  two  afterward  a  party  of  fur  traders,  under 
John  Clark,  started  on  an  expedition  of  exploration  and  retali- 
ation down  the  river,  but  again  the  fury  of  the  Eskimos  was 
roused.  In  truth,  had  it  not  been  for  a  storm  of  fair  wind 
which  favoured  them,  the  traders  would  not  have  escaped  with 
their  lives. 

Very  early  in  the  present  century,  Fort  Simpson,  the  former 
and  present  head-quarters  of  the  extensive  Mackenzie  Hirer 
district,  was  built,  and  very  soon  after  its  establishment  the 
prominent  trader,  and  afterwards  Chief  Factor,  George  Keith, 
is  found  in  charge  of  it.  It  is  still  the  great  trading  and 
Church  of  England  Mission  centre  of  the  vast  region  reaching 
to  the  Arctic  Sea. 

During  the  first  half  of  the  century,  Big  Island,  at  the  point 
where  the  Mackenzie  River  leaves  Great  Slave  Lake,  was,  on 
account  of  its  good  supply  of  white  fish,  the  wintering  station 
for  the  supernumerary  district  servants  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company.  Though  this  point  is  still  visited  for  fishing  in  the 
autumn,  yet  in  later  years  the  trade  of  this  post  has  been 
transferred  to  another  built  near  the  Roman  Catholic  Missbn  at 
Fort  Providence,  forty  miles  farther  down  the  river.  On  Hay 
River,  near  the  point  of  departure  of  the  Mackenzie  River  from 
the  lake,  several  forts  have  been  built  from  time  to  tine  and 
abandoned,  among  them  a  Fort  George  referred  to  by  the  old 
traders.  The  eastern  end  of  the  lake,  known  as  Fond  cu  Lac, 
became  celebrated,  as  we  have  already  seen,  in  connectim  with 
the  Arctic  explorers,  Sir  George  Back  and  Dr.  Richard 
King,  for  here  they  built  Fort  Reliance  and  winterei,  going 
in  the  spring  to  explore  the  Great  Fish  River.  In  after  years, 
on  account  of  the  district  being  the  resort  for  the  herds  of 
cariboo,  Fort  Reliance  was  rebuilt,  and  was  for  a  tme  kept 
up  as  an  outpost  of  Fort  Resolution  for  collecting  furs  and 
*  *  country  provisions."  It  may  be  re-occupied  soon  «i  account 
of  the  discoveries  of  gold  and  copper  in  the  region. 

Journeying  down  the  Mackenzie  Rivzr,  we  learr  that  there 


ATHABASCA,  MACKENZIE  RIVER,  YUKON    393 

was  a  fur  traders'  post  of  the  Montreal  merchants  sixty  miles 
north  of  Fort  Simpson.  In  all  probability  this  was  but  one  of 
several  posts  that  were  from  time  to  time  occupied  in  that 
locality.  At  the  beginning  of  the  century  the  North-West 
Company  pushed  on  further  north,  and  had  a  trading  post  on 
the  shore  of  Great  Bear  Lake,  but  almost  immediately  on  its 
erection  they  were  met  here  by  their  rivals,  the  X  Y  Company. 
At  this  point,  reached  by  going  up  the  Bear  River  from  its 
junction  with  the  Mackenzie  on  the  south-west  arm  of  the 
lake,  Chief  Factor  Peter  Dease  built  Fort  Franklin  for  the  use 
of  the  great  Arctic  explorer,  after  whom  he  named  the  fort. 

FORT  NORMAN,  ON  THE  MACKENZIE. 

To  explore  new  ground  was  a  burning  desire  in  the  breasts 
of  the  Nor' -Westers.  Immediately  in  the  year  of  their 
reunion  with  the  X  Y  Company,  the  united  North-West 
Company  established  a  post  on  the  Mackenzie  River,  sixty 
miles  north  of  the  mouth  of  Bear  River.  Indeed,  the  mouth 
of  Bear  River  on  the  Mackenzie  seems  to  have  suggested  itself 
as  a  suitable  point  for  a  post  to  be  built,  for  in  1810  Fort 
Norman  had  been  first  placed  there.  For  some  reason  the 
post  was  moved  thirty  or  forty  miles  higher  up  the  river,  but 
a  jam  of  ice  having  occurred  in  the  spring  of  1851,  the  fort 
was  mainly  swept  away  by  the  high  water,  though  the  occu- 
pants and  all  the  goods  were  saved.  In  the  same  year  the 
mouth  of  the  Bear  River  came  into  favour  again,  and  Fort 
Norman  was  built  at  that  point.  After  this  time  the  fort  was 
moved  once  or  twice,  but  was  finally  placed  in  its  present 
commanding  position.  It  was  in  quite  recent  times  that, 
under  Chief  Factor  Camsell's  direction,  a  station  half-way 
between  Fort  Norman  and  Fort  Simpson  was  fixed  and  the 
name  of  Fort  Wrigley  given  to  it. 

FORT   GOOD    HOPE. 

Not  only  did  the  impulse  of  union  between  the  North-West 
and  X  Y  Companies  reach  Bear  River,  but  in  the  same  year,  at 
a  point  on  the  Mackenzie  River  beyond  the  high  perpendicular 
cliffs  known  as  "  The  Ramparts,"  some  two  hundred  miles 


394  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

further  north  than  Fort  Norman,  was  Fort  Good  Hope  erected. 
Here  it  remained  for  nearly  a  score  of  years  as  the  farthest 
north  outpost  of  the  fur  trade,  but  after  the  union  of  the  North  - 
West  and  Hudson's  Bay  Companies  it  was  moved  a  hundred 
miles  southward  on  the  river  and  erected  on  Manitoulin  Island. 
After  some  years  (1836)  an  ice  jam  of  a  serious  kind  took 
place,  and  though  the  inmates  escaped  in  a  York  boat,  yet  the 
fort  was  completely  destroyed  by  the  rushing  waters  of  the 
angry  Mackenzie.  The  fort  was  soon  rebuilt,  but  in  its 
present  beautiful  situation  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  river, 
opposite  the  old  site  on  Manitoulin  Island. 

During  Governor  Simpson's  time  the  extension  of  trade 
took  place  toward  the  mouth  of  the  Mackenzie  River.  A 
trader,  John  Bell,  who  not  only  faced  the  hardships  of  the 
region  within  the  Arctic  Circle,  but  also  gained  a  good  name 
in  connection  with  Sir  John  Richardson's  expedition  in  search 
of  Franklin,  built  the  first  post  on  Peel's  River,  which  runs 
into  the  delta  of  Mackenzie  River.  Bell,  in  1846,  descended 
the  Rat  River,  and  first  of  British  explorers  set  eyes  on  the 
Lower  Yukon. 

In  the  following  year  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  established 
La  Pierre's  House  in  the  heart  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  toward 
the  Arctic  Sea,  and  Chief  Trader  Murray  built  and  occupied 
the  first  Fort  Yukon.  This  fort  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
held  for  twenty-two  years,  until  the  territory  of  Alaska  passed 
into  the  hands  of  the  people  of  the  United  States.  Rampart 
House  was  built  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  within  British 
territory.  Both  Rampart  House  and  La  Pierre's  House  were 
abandoned  a  few  years  ago  as  unprofitable.  A  similar  fate 
befell  Fort  Anderson,  two  degrees  north  of  the  Arctic  Circle, 
built  for  the  Eastern  Eskimos  on  the  Anderson  River,  discover- 
ed in  1857  by  Chief  Factor  R.  MacFarlane,  a  few  years  before 
the  transfer  of  the  territory  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  to 
Canada.  No  doubt  the  withdrawal  from  Fort  Anderson  was 
hastened  by  the  terribly  fatal  epidemic  of  scarlatina  which 
prevailed  all  over  the  Mackenzie  River  district  in  the  autumn 
and  early  winter  of  1865.  More  than  eleven  hundred  Indians 
and  Eskimos,  out  of  the  four  thousand  estimated  population, 
perished.  The  loss  of  the  hunters  caused  by  this  disease,  and 


ATHABASCA,  MACKENZIE  RIVER,  YUKON    395 

the  difficulties  of  overland  transport,  led  to  the  abandonment 
of  this  out-of-the-way  post. 

THE   LIARD   RIVER. 

The  conflict  of  the  North- West  and  X  Y  Companies  led  to 
the  most  extraordinary  exploration  that  Rupert's  Land  and 
the  Indian  territories  have  witnessed.  At  the  time  when  the 
Mackenzie  River,  at  the  beginning  of  the  century,  was  being 
searched  and  occupied,  a  fort  known  as  The  Forks  was  estab- 
lished at  the  junction  of  the  Liard  and  Mackenzie  Rivers. 
This  fort,  called,  after  the  union  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  and 
North- West  Companies,  Fort  Simson,  became  the  base  of 
operations  for  the  exploration  of  the  Liard  River.  We  have 
followed  the  course  of  trade  by  which  the  Mackenzie  itself  was 
placed  under  tribute  ;  it  may  be  well  also  to  look  at  the 
occupation  of  the  Liard,  the  most  rapid  and  terrible  of  all  the 
great  eastern  streams  that  dash  down  from  the  heart  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains. 

The  first  post  to  be  established  on  this  stream  was  Fort 
Liard,  not  far  below  the  junction  of  the  western  with  the  east 
branch  of  the  river.  There  was  an  old  fort  between  Fort  Liard 
and  Fort  Simpson,  but  Fort  Liard,  which  is  still  occupied  by 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  began  almost  with  the  century, 
and  a  few  years  afterwards  was  under  the  experienced  trader, 
George  Keith.  Probably,  at  an  equally  early  date,  Fort 
Nelson,  on  the  eastern  branch  of  the  river,  was  established.  In 
the  second  decade  of  the  century,  Alexander  Henry,  the  officer 
in  charge,  and  all  of  his  people  were  murdered  by  the  Indians. 
The  post  was  for  many  years  abandoned,  but  was  rebuilt  in 
1865,  and  is  still  a  trading  post. 

It  was  probably  shortly  after  the  union  of  the  North-West 
and  Hudson's  Bay  Companies  that  Fort  Halkett,  far  up  the 
western  branch  of  the  river,  was  erected.  After  forty  or  fifty 
years  of  occupation,  Fort  Halkett  was  abandoned,  but  a  small 
post  called  Toad  River  was  built  some  time  afterward,  half  way 
between  its  site  and  that  of  Fort  Liard.  In  1834,  Chief  Trader 
John  M.  McLeod,  not  the  McLeod  whose  journal  we  have 
quoted,  pushed  up  past  the  dangerous  rapids  and  boiling 
whirlpools,  and  among  rugged  cliffs  and  precipices  of  the 


396  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Rocky  Mountains,  discovered  Dease  River  and  Dease  Lake 
from  which  the  river  flows. 

Robert  Campbell,  an  intrepid  Scottish  officer  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  in  1838,  succeeded  in  doing  what  his  predeces- 
sors had  been  unable  to  accomplish,  viz.  to  establish  a  trading- 
post  on  Dease  Lake.  In  the  summer  of  the  same  year  Camp- 
bell crossed  to  the  Pacific  Slope  and  reached  the  head  waters 
of  the  Stikine  River. 

In  opening  his  new  post  Campbell  awakened  the  hostility  of 
the  coast  Indians.  He  and  his  men  became  so  reduced  in 
supplies  that  they  subsisted  for  some  time  on  the  skin  thongs 
of  their  moccasins  and  snow  shoes  and  on  the  parchment 
windows  of  their  huts,  boiled  to  supply  the  one  meal  a  day 
which  kept  them  alive.  In  the  end  Campbell  was  compelled 
to  leave  his  station  on  the  Dease  Lake,  and  the  fort  was  burnt 
by  the  Indians. 

DISCOVERY   OF   THE   UPPER   YUKON. 

Under  orders  from  Governor  Simpson,  Campbell,  in  1840, 
undertook  the  exploration  that  has  made  his  name  famous. 
This  was  to  ascend  the  northern  branch  of  the  wild  and 
dangerous  Liard  River.  For  this  purpose  he  left  the  mountain 
post,  Fort  Halkett,  and  passing  through  the  great  gorge  arrived 
at  Lake  Frances,  where  he  gave  the  promontory  which  divides 
the  lake  the  name  "  Simpson's  Tower."  Leaving  the  Lake 
and  ascending  one  of  its  tributaries,  called  by  him  Finlayson's 
River,  he  reached  the  interesting  reservoir  of  Finlayson's  Lake, 
of  which,  at  high  water,  one  part  of  the  sheet  runs  west  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean  and  the  other  to  the  Arctic  Sea.  With  seven 
trusty  companions  he  crossed  the  height  of  land  and  saw  the 
high  cliffs  of  the  splendid  river,  which  he  called  "  Pelly 
Banks,"  in  honour  of  the  then  London  Governor  of  the  Com- 
pany. The  Company  would  have  called  it  Campbell's  River, 
but  the  explorer  refused  the  honour.  Going  down  the  stream 
a  few  miles  on  a  raft,  Campbell  then  turned  back,  and  reached 
Fort  Halkett  after  an  absence  of  four  months. 

Highly  complimented  by  Governor  Simpson,  Campbell, 
under  orders,  in  the  next  year  built  a  fort  at  Lake  Frances,  and 


ATHABASCA,  MACKENZIE,  RIVER  YUKON    397 

in  a  short  time  another  establishment  at  Pelly  Banks.  De- 
scending the  river,  the  explorer  met  at  the  junction  of  the 
Lewis  and  Pelly  Banks  a  band  of  Indians,  who  would  not 
allow  him  to  proceed  further,  and  indeed  plotted  to  destroy 
him  and  his  men.  Eight  years  after  his  discovery  of  Pelly 
Banks,  Campbell  started  on  his  great  expedition,  which  was 
crowned  with  success.  Reaching  again  the  Junction  of  the 
Pelly  and  Lewis  Rivers,  he  erected  a  post,  naming  it  Fort 
Selkirk,  although  it  was  long  locally  known  as  Campbell's 
Fort.  Two  years  after  the  building  of  Fort  Selkirk,  Campbell, 
journeying  in  all  from  the  height  of  land  for  twelve  hundred 
miles,  reached  Fort  Yukon,  where,  as  we  have  seen,  Trader 
Murray  was  in  charge.  Making  a  circuit  around  by  the 
Porcupine  River  and  ascending  the  Mackenzie  River,  Camp- 
bell surprised  his  friends  at  Fort  Simpson  by  coming  up  the 
river  to  Fort  Simpson. 

In  1852,  a  thievish  band  of  coast  Indians  called  the  Chilkats 
plundered  Fort  Selkirk  and  shortly  afterward  destroyed  it. 
Its  ruins  remain  to  this  day,  and  the  site  is  now  taken  up  by  the 
Canadian  Government  as  a  station  on  the  way  to  the  Yukon 
gold-fields. 

Campbell  went  home  to  London,  mapped  out  with  the  aid  of 
Arrowsmith  the  country  he  had  found,  and  gave  names  to  its 
rivers  and  other  features.  A  few  years  ago  an  officer  of  the 
United  States  army,  Lieutenant  Schwatka,  sought  to  rob 
Campbell  of  his  fame,  and  attempted  to  rename  the  important 
points  of  the  region.  Campbell's  merit  and  modesty  entitle 
him  to  the  highest  recognition. 

The  trading  posts  of  the  great  region  we  are  describing  have 
been  variously  grouped  into  districts.  Previous  to  the  union 
of  the  North- West  and  Hudson's  Bay  Companies,  from 
Athabasca  north  and  west  was  known  as  the  "  Athabasca- 
Mackenzie  Department,"  their  returns  all  being  kept  in  one 
account.  This  northern  department  was  long  under  the 
superintendency  of  Chief  Factor  Edward  Smith. 

A  new  district  was,  some  time  after  the  transfer  of  the  Indian 
territories  to  Canada,  formed  and  named ' '  Peace  River."  The 
management  has  changed  from  time  to  time,  Fort  Dunvegan, 
for  example,  for  a  period  the  head-quarters  of  the  Peace  River 


398  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

district,  having  lost  its  pre-eminence  and  been  transferred  to 
be  under  the  chief  officer  on  Lesser  Slave  Lake. 

The  vast  inland  water  stretches  of  which  we  have  spoken 
have  been  the  chief  means  of  communication  throughout  the 
whole  country.  Without  these  there  could  have  been  little  fur 
trade.  The  distances  are  bewildering.  The  writer  remembers 
seeing  Bishop  Bompas,  who  had  left  the  far  distant  Fort 
Yukon  to  go  to  England,  and  who  by  canoe,  York  boat,  dog 
train,  snow  shoe,  and  waggon,  had  been  nine  months  on  the 
journey  before  he  reached  Winnipeg. 

The  first  northern  inland  steamer  in  these  remote  retreats 
was  the  Graham  (1882),  built  by  the  Company  at  Fort  Chipe- 
wyan  on  Lake  Athabasca,  by  Captain  John  M.  Smith.  Three 
years  later  the  same  captain  built  the  screw-propeller  Wrigley, 
at  Fort  Smith,  on  the  Slave  River  ;  and  a  few  years  afterward, 
this  indefatigable  builder  launched  at  Athabasca  landing  the 
stern-wheeler  Athabasca,  for  the  water  stretches  of  the  Upper 
Athabasca  River. 

How  remarkable  the  record  of  adventure,  trade,  rivalry, 
bloodshed,  hardship,  and  successful  effort,  from  the  time,  more 
than  a  century  ago,  when  Peter  Pond  started  out  on  his 
seemingly  desperate  undertaking  ! 


SIR   JAMES    DOUGLAS. 


\Pfige  398. 


CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

ON   THE   PACIFIC   SLOPE. 

Extension  of  trade  in  New  Caledonia — The  Western  Department — 
Fort  Vancouver  built — Governor's  residence  and  Bachelor's 
Hall — Fort  Colville — James  Douglas,  a  man  of  note — A  dignified 
official — An  Indian  rising — A  brave  woman — The  fertile 
Columbia  Valley — Finlayson,  a  man  of  action — Russian  fur' 
traders — Treaty  of  Alaska — Lease  of  Alaska  to  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company — Fort  Langley — The  great  farm — Black  at 
Kamloops — Fur  trader  v.  botanist — "  No  soul  above  a  beaver's 
skin  " — A  tragic  death — Chief  Nicola's  eloquence — A  murderer's 
fate. 

THE  great  exploration  early  in  the  century  secured  the  Pacific 
Slope  very  largely  to  the  North -West  Company.  Several  of 
their  most  energetic  agents,  as  the  names  of  the  rivers  running 
into  the  Pacific  Ocean  show,  had  made  a  deep  impression  on 
the  region  even  as  far  south  as  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia 
River.  On  the  union  of  the  North-West  and  Hudson's  Bay 
Companies,  Governor  Simpson  threw  as  much  energy  into  the 
development  of  trade  in  the  country  on  the  western  side  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains  as  if  he  had  been  a  thorough -going 
Nor'-WTester. 

In  his  administration  from  ocean  to  ocean  he  divided  the 
trading  territory  into  four  departments,  viz.  Montreal,  the 
Southern,  the  Northern,  and  the  Western.  In  each  of  these 
there  were  four  factors,  and  these  were,  in  the  Western  or 
Rocky  Mountain  department,  subject  to  one  chief.  Under 
the  chief  factor  the  gradation  was  chief  trader,  chief  clerk, 
apprenticed  clerk,  postmaster,  interpreter,  voyageur,  and 
labourer. 

This  fuller  organization  and  the  cessation  of  strife  resulted  in 
a  great  increase  of  the  trade  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  on 
the  coast  as  well  as  the  east  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The 

399 


400  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

old  fort  of  Astoria,  which  was  afterwards  known  as  Fort  George, 
was  found  too  far  from  the  mountains  for  the  convenience  of 
the  fur  traders.  Accordingly  in  1824-5,  a  new  fort  was  erected 
on  the  north  side  of  the  Columbia  River,  six  miles  above  its 
junction  with  the  Willamette  River.  The  new  fort  was  called 
Fort  Vancouver,  and  was  built  on  a  prairie  slope  about  one 
mile  back  from  the  river,  but  it  was  afterwards  moved  nearer 
the  river  bank.  The  new  site  was  very  convenient  for  carrying 
on  the  overland  traffic  to  Puget  Sound.  This  fort  was  occupied 
for  twenty-three  years,  until  international  difficulties  rendered 
its  removal  necessary. 

Fort  Vancouver  was  of  considerable  size,  its  stockade  mea- 
suring 750  ft.  in  length  and  600  ft.  in  breadth.  The  Governor's 
residence,  Bachelor's  Hall,  and  numerous  other  buildings 
made  up  a  considerable  establishment.  About  the  fort  a  farm 
was  under  cultivation  to  the  extent  of  fifteen  hundred  acres, 
and  a  large  number  of  cattle,  sheep,  and  horses  were  bred  upon 
it  and  supplied  the  trade  carried  on  with  the  Russians  in  the 
Far  North. 

Farther  up  the  Columbia  River,  where  the  Walla  Walla 
River  emptied  in,  a  fort  was  constructed  in  1818.  The  material 
for  this  fort  was  brought  a  considerable  distance,  and  being  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  troublesome  tribes  of  Indians,  care  was 
taken  to  make  the  fort  strong  and  defensible. 

Still  further  up  the  Columbia  River  and  near  the  mountains, 
an  important  post,  Fort  Colville,  was  built.  This  fort  became 
the  depot  for  all  the  trade  done  on  the  Columbia  River  ;  and 
from  this  point  the  brigade  which  had  been  organized  at  Fort 
Vancouver  made  its  last  call  before  undertaking  the  steep 
mountain  climb  which  was  necessary  in  order  that  by  the  mid- 
dle of  March  it  might  reach  Norway  House  and  be  reported  at 
the  great  summer  meeting  of  the  fur  traders'  council  there. 
This  task  needed  a  trusty  leader,  and  for  many  years  Chief 
Factor,  afterward  Sir  James,  Douglas  became  the  man 
on  whom  Governor  and  Council  depended  to  do  this 
service. 

The  mention  of  the  name  of  James  Douglas  brings  before 
us  the  greatest  and  most  notable  man  developed  by  the 
fur  trade  of  the  Pacific  slope.  The  history  of  this  leader 


ON    THE   PACIFIC    SLOPE  401 

was  for  fifty  years  after  the  coalition  of  the  Companies 
in  1821,  the  history  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  on  the 
Pacific. 

Born  near  the  beginning  of  the  century,  a  scion  of  the  noble 
house  of  Douglas,  young  Douglas  emigrated  to  Canada,  entered 
the  North- West  Company,  learned  French  as  if  by  magic,  and 
though  little  more  than  a  lad,  at  once  had  heavy  responsibili- 
ties thrown  upon  him.  He  was  enterprising  and  determined-, 
with  a  judicious  mixture  of  prudence.  He  had  capital  busi- 
ness talents  and  an  adaptability  that  stood  him  in  good  stead  in 
dealing  with  Indians.  The  veteran  Chief  Factor,  McLoughlin, 
who  had  served  his  term  in  the  Nor'-Wester  service  about 
Lake  Superior  and  Lake  Nepigon,  was  appointed  to  the  charge 
of  the  Pacific  or  Western  District.  He  discerned  the  genius  of 
his  young  subordinate,  and  with  the  permission  of  the  directors 
in  London,  after  a  short  interval,  took  Douglas  west  of  the 
mountains  to  the  scene  of  his  future  successes.  The  friendship 
between  these  chiefs  of  the  Pacific  Coast  was  thus  early  begun, 
and  they  together  did  much  to  mould  the  British  interests  on 
the  Pacific  Coast  into  a  comely  shape. 

While  McLoughlin  crossed  at  once  to  the  Columbia  and  took 
charge  of  Fort  Vancouver,  he  directed  Douglas  to  go  north 
to  New  Caledonia,  or  what  is  now  Northern  British  Columbia, 
to  learn  the  details  of  the  fur  trade  of  the  mountains.  Douglas 
threw  himself  heartily  into  every  part  of  his  work.  He  not 
only  learned  the  Indian  languages,  and  used  them  to  advantage 
in  the  advancement  of  the  fur  trade,  but  studied  successfully 
the  physical  features  of  the  country  and  became  an  authority 
on  the  Pacific  Slope  which  proved  of  greatest  value  to  the 
Company  and  the  country  for  many  a  day. 

Douglas  had  as  his  head-quarters  Fort  St.  James,  near  the 
outlet  of  Stuart  Lake,  i.e.  just  west  of  the  summit  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  He  determined  to  enforce  law  and  do 
away  with  the  disorder  which  prevailed  in  the  district.  An 
Indian,  who  some  time  before  had  murdered  one  of  the  servants 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  had  been  allowed  to  go  at 
large.  Judgment  being  long  deferred,  the  murderer  thought 
himself  likely  to  be  unmolested,  and  visited  Stuart  Lake. 
Douglas,  learning  of  his  presence,  with  a  weak  garrison  seized 
Dd 


402  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

the  criminal  and  visited  vengeance  on  him.  The  Indians  were 
incensed,  but  knowing  that  they  had  to  deal  with  a  doughty 
Douglas,  employed  stratagem  in  their  reprisals.  The  old  chief 
came  very  humbly  to  the  fort  and,  knocking  at  the  gate,  was 
given  admittance.  He  talked  the  affair  over  with  Douglas, 
and  the  matter  seemed  in  a  fair  way  to  be  settled  when  another 
knock  was  heard  at  the  gate.  The  chief  stated  that  it  was  his 
brother  who  sought  to  be  admitted.  The  gate  was  opened,  when 
in  rushed  the  whole  of  the  Nisqually  tribe.  McLean  vividly 
describes  the  scene  which  ensued  :  *  *  The  men  of  the  fort  were 
overpowered  ere  they  had  time  to  stand  on  their  defence. 
Douglas,  however,  seized  a  wall-piece  that  was  mounted  in  the 
hall,  and  was  about  to  discharge  it  on  the  crowd  that  was 
pouring  in  upon  him,  when  the  chief  seized  him  by  the  hands 
and  held  him  fast.  For  an  instant  his  life  was  in  the  utmost 
peril,  surrounded  by  thirty  or  forty  Indians,  their  knives 
drawn,  and  brandishing  them  over  his  head  with  frantic 
gestures,  and  calling  out  to  the  chief,  "  Shall  we  strike  ? 
Shall  we  strike  ?  " 

The  chief  hesitated,  and  at  this  critical  moment  the  inter- 
preter's wife  (daughter  of  an  old  trader,  James  McDougall) 
stepped  forward,  and  by  her  presence  of  mind  saved  him  and 
the  establishment. 

"  Observing  one  of  the  inferior  chiefs,  who  had  always  pro- 
fessed the  greatest  friendship  for  the  whites,  standing  in  the 
crowd,  she  addressed  herself  to  him,  exclaiming,  '  What !  you 
a  friend  of  the  whites,  and  not  say  a  word  in  their  behalf  at 
such  a  time  as  this  !  Speak  !  You  know  the  murderer  deserved 
to  die ;  according  to  your  own  laws  the  deed  was  just ;  it  is  blood 
for  blood.  The  white  men  are  not  dogs  ;  they  love  their  own 
kindred  as  well  as  you  ;  why  should  they  not  avenge  their 
murder  ?  '  " 

The  moment  the  heroine's  voice  was  heard  the  tumult  sub- 
sided ;  her  boldness  struck  the  savages  with  awe.  The  chief 
she  addressed,  acting  on  her  suggestion,  interfered,  and 
being  seconded  by  the  old  chief,  who  had  no  serious  inten- 
tion of  injuring  the  whites,  and  was  satisfied  with  showing  them 
that  they  were  fairly  in  his  power,  Douglas  and  his  men  were 
set  at  liberty,  and  an  amicable  conference  having  taken  place, 


ON    THE    PACIFIC    SLOPE  403 

the  Indians  departed  much  elated  with  the  issue  of  their 
enterprise. 

Douglas  spent  his  four  years  in  the  interior  in  a  most 
interesting  and  energetic  life.  The  experience  there  gained 
was  invaluable  in  his  after  career  as  a  fur  trader.  In  1826,  at 
Bear  Lake,  at  the  head  of  a  branch  of  the  River  Skeena,  he 
built  a  fort,  which  he  named  Fort  Connolly,  in  honour  of  his 
superior  officer,  the  chief  of  the  Pacific  department.  Other 
forts  in  this  region  date  their  origin  to  Douglas's  short 
stay  in  this  part  of  the  mountains.  Douglas  also  had 
an  "affair  of  the  heart"  while  at  Fort  St.  James.  Young 
and  impressionable,  he  fell  in  love  with  Nellie,  the  daughter 
of  Mr.  Connolly,  a  young  "daughter  of  the  country,"  aged 
sixteen.  She  became  his  wife  and  survived  him  as  Lady 
Douglas. 

His  life  of  adventure  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  came  to  an 
end  by  the  summons  of  Chief  Factor  McLoughlin  to  appear  at 
Fort  Vancouver,  the  chief  point  of  the  Company's  trade  on  the 
Pacific  slope.  In  two  years  more  the  rising  young  officer 
became  chief  trader,  and  three  years  afterward  he  had  reached 
the  high  dignity  of  chief  factor.  His  chief  work  was  to  estab- 
lish  forts,  superintend  the  trade  in  its  different  departments, 
and  inspect  the  forts  at  least  annually.  His  vigilance  and 
energy  were  surprising.  He  became  so  noted  that  it  was  said 
of  him  :  "  He  was  one  of  the  most  enterprising  and  inquisitive 
of  men,  famous  for  his  intimate  acquaintance  with  every  service 
of  the  coast." 

Though  James  Douglas  rose  by  well  marked  tokens  of 
leadership  to  the  chief  place  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  yet  the  men 
associated  with  lu'm  were  a  worthy  and  able  band.  His  friend, 
Chief  Factor  Dr.  John  McLoughlin,  who  had  been  his  patron, 
was  a  man  of  excellent  ability.  McLoughlin  was  of  a  sym- 
pathetic and  friendly  disposition,  and  took  an  interest  in  the 
settlement  of  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Columbia.  His  course 
seems  to  have  been  disapproved  of  by  the  London  Committee 
of  the  Company,  and  his  place  was  given  to  Douglas,  after 
which  he  spent  his  life  in  Oregon.  His  work  and  influence 
cannot,  however,  be  disregarded.  He  passed  through  many 
adventures  and  dangers.  He  was  fond  of  show,  and  had  a 


404  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

manner  which  might  well  recommend  him  to   Sir  George 
Simpson,  Governor-in-Chief. 

From  a  trader's  journal  we  learn:  "  McLoughlin  and  his 
suite  would  sometimes  accompany  the  south-bound  expedi- 
tions from  Fort  Vancouver,  in  regal  state,  for  fifty  or  one  hun- 
dred miles  up  the  Willamette,  when  he  would  dismiss  them 
with  his  blessing  and  return  to  the  fort.  He  did  not  often 
travel,  and  seldom  far  ;  but  on  these  occasions  he  indulged 
his  men  rather  than  himself  in  some  little  variety.  ...  It 
pleased  Mrs.  McLoughlin  thus  to  break  the  monotony  of  her 
fort  life.  Upon  a  gaily -caparisoned  steed,  with  silver  trap- 
pings and  strings  of  bells  on  bridle  reins  and  saddle  skirt,  sat 
the  lady  of  Fort  Vancouver,  herself  arrayed  in  brilliant  colours 
and  wearing  a  smile  which  might  cause  to  blush  and  hang  its 
head  the  broadest,  warmest,  and  most  fragrant  sunflower. 
By  her  side,  also  gorgeously  attired,  rode  her  lord,  king  of  the 
Columbia,  and  every  inch  a  king,  attended  by  a  train  of  trap- 
pers, under  a  chief  trader,  each  upon  his  best  behaviour." 

But  a  group  of  men,  notable  and  competent,  gathered  around 
these  two  leaders  of  the  fur  trade  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  These 
comprised  Roderick  Finlayson,  John  Work,  A.  C.  Anderson, 
W.  F.  Tolmie,  John  Tod,  S.  Black,  and  others.  These  men, 
in  charge  of  important  posts,  were  local  magnates,  and  really, 
gathered  together  in  council,  determined  the  policy  of  the 
Company  along  the  whole  coast. 

In  1827  the  spirit  of  extension  of  the  trading  operations  took 
possession  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  In  that  year  the 
officers  at  Fort  Vancouver  saw  arrive  from  the  Thames  the 
schooner  Cadboro,  seventy-two  tons  burthen.  She  became  as 
celebrated  on  the  Pacific  Coast  as  any  prominent  fur  trader 
could  have  become.  It  was  said  of  this  good  ship,  "  She  saw 
buried  every  human  body  brought  by  her  from  England,  save 
one,  John  Spence,  ship  carpenter."  Her  arrival  at  this  time 
was  the  occasion  for  an  expedition  to  occupy  the  Lower  Fraser 
with  a  trading  post.  John  McMillan  commanded  the  expe- 
dition of  twenty-five  men.  Leaving  Fort  Vancouver  in  boats, 
and,  after  descending  the  Columbia  for  a  distance,  crossing  the 
country  to  Puget's  Sound,  they  met  the  Cadboro,  which  had 
gone  upon  her  route.  Transported  to  the  mouth  of  the  Fraser 


ON    THE   PACIFIC   SLOPE  405 

River,  which  empties  into  the  Gulf  of  Georgia,  they,  with 
some  difficulty,  ascended  the  river  and  planted  Fort  Langley, 
where  in  the  first  season  of  trade  a  fair  quantity  of  beaver  was 
purchased,  and  a  good  supply  of  deer  and  elk  meat  was  brought 
in  by  the  hunters.  The  founding  of  Fort  Langley  meant 
virtually  the  taking  hold  of  what  we  now  know  as  the  mainland 
of  British  Columbia. 

The  reaching  out  in  trade  was  not  favoured  by  the  Indians 
of  the  Columbia.  Two  years  after  the  founding  of  Fort 
Langley,  a  Hudson's  Bay  Company  ship  from  London,  the 
William  and  Ann,  was  wrecked  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia 
River.  The  survivors  were  murdered  by  the  Indians,  and 
the  cargo  was  seized  and  secreted  by  the  savage  wreckers. 
Chief  Factor  McLoughlin  sent  to  the  Indians,  demanding  the 
restoration  of  the  stolen  articles.  An  old  broom  was  all  that 
was  brought  to  the  fort,  and  this  was  done  in  a  spirit  of 
derision.  The  schooner  Vancouver — the  first  ship  of  that 
name — (150  tons  burthen),  built  on  the  coast,  was  wrecked  five 
years  after,  and  became  a  total  loss. 

In  the  same  year  as  the  wreck  of  the  William  and  Ann,  it 
was  strongly  impressed  upon  the  traders  that  a  sawmill  should 
be  erected  to  supply  the  material  for  building  new  vessels. 
Chief  Factor  McLoughlin  determined  to  push  this  on.  He 
chose  as  a  site  a  point  on  the  Willamette  River,  a  tributary  of 
the  Columbia  from  the  south,  where  Oregon  city  now  stands. 
He  began  a  farm  in  connection  with  the  mill,  and  in  a  year  or 
two  undertook  the  construction  of  the  mill  race  by  blasting  in 
the  rock,  and  erected  cottages  for  his  men  and  new  settlers. 
The  Indians,  displeased  with  the  signs  of  permanent  residence, 
burnt  McLoughlin's  huts.  It  is  said  it  was  this  enterprise 
that  turned  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  Committee  in  London 
against  the  veteran  trader.  Years  afterwards,  Edward  Ellice, 
the  fur-trade  magnate  residing  in  England,  said,  "  Dr. 
McLoughlin  was  rather  an  amphibious  and  independent  per- 
sonage. He  was  a  very  able  man,  and,  I  believe,  a  very  good 
man  ;  but  he  had  a  fancy  that  he  would  like  to  have  interests 
in  both  countries,  both  in  United  States  and  in  English 
territory  .  .  .  While  he  remained  with  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  he  was  an  excellent  servant." 


406  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Among  the  traders  far  up  in  the  interior,  in  command  of 
Fort  Kamloops,  which  was  at  the  junction  of  the  North  and 
South  Thompson,  was  a  Scotchman  named  Samuel  Black. 
There  came  as  a  visitor  to  his  fort  a  man  of  science  and  a 
countryman  of  his  own.  This  man  was  David  Douglas.  He 
was  an  enthusiast  in  the  search  for  plants  and  birds.  He  was 
indefatigable  as  a  naturalist,  did  much  service  to  the  botany 
of  Western  America,  and  has  his  name  preserved  in  the 
characteristic  tree  of  the  Pacific  slope — the  Douglas  Fir. 
Douglas,  on  visiting  Black,  was  very  firm  in  the  expression 
of  his  opinions  against  the  Company,  saying,  "  The  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  is  simply  a  mercenary  corporation  ;  there  is  not 
an  officer  in  it  with  a  soul  above  a  beaver's  skin."  Black's 
Caledonian  blood  was  roused,  for  he  was  a  leading  spirit 
among  the  traders,  having  on  the  union  of  the  Companies  been 
presented  with  a  ring  with  the  inscription  on  it,  '  *  To  the  most 
worthy  of  the  worthy  Nor'- Westers."  He  challenged  the 
botanist  to  a  duel.  The  scientist  deferred  the  meeting  till  the 
morning,  but  early  next  day  Black  tapped  at  the  parchment 
window  of  the  room  where  Douglas  was  sleeping,  crying, 
"  Mister  Douglas,  are  ye  ready  ?  "  Douglas  disregarded  the 
invitation.  David  Douglas  some  time  after  visited  Hawaii, 
where,  in  examining  the  snares  for  catching  wild  cattle,  he 
fell  into  the  pit,  and  was  trampled  to  death  by  a  wild  bullock. 

The  death  of  Samuel  Black  was  tragic.  In  1841,  Tran- 
quille,  a  chief  of  the  Shushwaps,  who  dwelt  near  Kamloops, 
died.  The  friends  of  the  chief  blamed  the  magic  or  "  evil 
medicine  "  of  the  white  man  for  his  death.  A  nephew  of 
Tranquille  waited  his  opportunity  and  shot  Chief  Trader  Black. 
The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  aroused  to  most  vigorous 
action.  A  writer  says  :  "  The  murderer  escaped.  The  news 
spread  rapidly  to  the  neighbouring  posts.  The  natives  were 
scarcely  less  disturbed  than  the  white  men.  The  act  was 
abhorred,  even  by  the  friends  and  relatives  of  Tranquille. 
Anderson  was  at  Nisqually  at  the  time.  Old  John  Tod  came 
over  from  Fort  Alexandria,  McLean  from  Fort  Colville,  and 
McKinley  and  Ermatinger  from  Fort  Okanagan.  From  Fort 
Vancouver  McLoughlin  sent  men.  .  .  .  Cameron  was  to  assist 
Tod  in  taking  charge  of  Kamloops.  All  traffic  was  stopped. 


ON    THE   PACIFIC   SLOPE  407 

"  Tod  informed  the  assembled  Shushwaps  that  the  murderer 
must  be  delivered  up.  The  address  of  Nicola,  chief  of  the 
Okanagans,  gives  a  fine  example  of  Indian  eloquence.  He 
said  :  '  The  winter  is  cold.  On  all  the  hills  around  the  deer 
are  plenty  ;  and  yet  I  hear  your  children  crying  for  food.  Why 
is  this  ?  You  ask  for  powder  and  ball,  they  refuse  you  with 
a  scowl.  Why  do  the  white  men  let  your  children  starve  ? 
Look  there  !  Beneath  yon  mound  of  earth  lies  him  who  was 
your  friend,  your  father.  The  powder  and  ball  he  gave  you 
that  you  might  get  food  for  your  famishing  wives  and  children, 
you  turned  against  him.  Great  heavens !  And  are  the 
Shushwaps  such  cowards,  dastardly  to  shoot  their  benefactor 
in  the  back  while  his  face  was  turned  ?  Yes,  alas,  you  have 
killed  your  father  !  A  mountain  has  fallen  !  The  earth  is 
shaken  !  The  sun  is  darkened  !  My  heart  is  sad.  I  cannot 
look  at  myself  in  the  glass.  I  cannot  look  at  you,  my  neigh- 
bours and  friends.  He  is  dead,  and  we  poor  Indians  shall  never 
see  his  like  again.  He  was  just  and  generous.  His  heart  was 
larger  than  yonder  mountain,  and  clearer  than  the  waters  of 
the  lake.  Warriors  do  not  weep,  but  sore  is  my  breast,  and 
our  wives  shall  wail  for  him.  Wherefore  did  you  kill  him  ? 
But  you  did  not.  You  loved  him.  And  now  you  must  not 
rest  until  you  have  brought  to  justice  Ins  murderer.' 

"  The  old  man  was  so  rigid  in  expression  that  his  whole 
frame  and  features  seemed  turned  to  stone. 

"  Archibald  McKinley  said,  '  Never  shall  I  forget  it ;  it 
the  grandest  speech  I  ever  heard/ 

"  The  murderer  was  soon  secured  and  placed  in  irons,  but  in 
crossing  a  river  he  succeeded  in  upsetting  the  boat  in  the  sight 
of  Nicola  and  his  assembled  Indians.  The  murderer  floated 
down  the  stream,  but  died,  his  death  song  hushed  by  the  crack 
of  rifles  from  the  shore." 

Thus  by  courage  and  prudence,  alas  !  not  without  the  sacri- 
fice of  valuable  lives,  was  the  power  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany and  the  prestige  of  Great  Britain  established  on  the 
Pacific  Coast. 


CHAPTER    XL. 

FROM   OREGON    TO    VANCOUVER   ISLAND. 

Fort  Vancouver  on  American  soil — Chief  Factor  Douglas  chooses  a 
new  site — Young  McLoughlin  killed — Liquor  selling  prohibited — 
Dealing  with  the  Songhies — A  Jesuit  father — Fort  Victoria — 
Finlayson's  skill — Chinook  jargon — The  brothers  Ermatinger — A 
fur- trading  Junius — "  Fifty-four,  forty,  or  fight  " — Oregon  Treaty 
— Hudson's  Bay  Company  indemnified — The  waggon  road — 
A  colony  established — First  governor — Gold  fever — British 
Columbia — Fort  Simpson — Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  the 
interior — The  forts — A  group  of  worthies — Service  to  Britain — 
The  coast  become  Canadian. 

THE  Columbia  River  grew  to  be  a  source  of  wealth  to  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company.  Its  farming  facilities  were  great,  and 
its  products  afforded  a  large  store  for  supplying  the  Russian 
settlements  of  Alaska.  But  as  on  the  Red  River,  so  here  the 
influx  of  agricultural  settlers  sounded  a  note  of  warning  to  the 
fur  trader  that  his  day  was  soon  to  pass  away.  With  the 
purpose  of  securing  the  northern  trade,  Fort  Langley  had  been 
built  on  the  Fraser  River.  The  arrival  of  Sir  George  Simpson 
on  the  coast  on  his  journey  round  the  world  was  the  occasion 
of  the  Company  taking  a  most  important  step  in  order  to  hold 
the  trade  of  Alaska. 

In  the  year  following  Sir  George's  visit,  Chief  Factor  Douglas 
crossed  Puget  Sound  and  examined  the  southern  extremity  of 
Vancouver  Island  as  to  its  suitability  for  the  erection  of  a  new 
fort  to  take  the  place  in  due  time  of  Fort  Vancouver.  Douglas 
found  an  excellent  site,  close  beside  the  splendid  harbour  of 
Esquimalt,  and  reported  to  the  assembled  council  of  chief 
factors  and  traders  at  Fort  Vancouver  that  the  advantages 
afforded  by  the  site,  especially  that  of  its  contiguity  to  the  sea, 
would  place  the  new  fort,  for  all  their  purposes,  in  a  much  better 


FROM   OREGON    TO    VANCOUVER   ISLAND    409 

position  than  Fort  Vancouver.  The  enterprise  was  accordingly 
determined  on  for  the  next  season. 

A  tragic  incident  took  place  at  this  time  on  the  Pacific  Coast, 
which  tended  to  make  the  policy  of  expansion  adopted  appear 
to  be  a  wise  and  reasonable  one.  This  was  the  violent  death 
of  a  young  trader,  the  son  of  Chief  Trader  McLoughlin,  at 
Fort  Taku  on  the  coast  of  Alaska,  in  the  territory  leased  from 
the  Russians  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  The  murder 
was  the  result  of  a  drunken  dispute  among  the  Indians,  in 
which,  accidentally,  young  McLoughlin  had  been  shot. 

Sir  George  Simpson  had  just  returned  to  the  fort  from  his 
visit  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  was  startled  at  seeing  the 
Russian  and  British  ships,  with  flags  at  half-mast,  on  account 
of  the  young  trader's  death.  The  Indians,  on  the  arrival  of 
the  Governor,  expressed  the  greatest  penitence,  but  the  stern 
Lycurgus  could  not  be  appeased,  and  this  calamity,  along  with 
one  of  a  similar  kind,  which  had  shortly  before  occurred  on  the 
Stikine  River,  led  Sir  George  Simpson  and  the  Russian  Governor 
Etholin  to  come  to  an  agreement  to  discontinue  at  once  the 
sale  of  spirituous  liquor  in  trading  with  the  Indians.  The 
Indians  for  a  time  resorted  to  every  device,  such  as  withhold- 
ing their  furs  unless  liquor  was  given  them,  but  the  traders 
were  unyielding,  and  the  trade  on  the  coast  became  safer  and 
more  profitable  on  account  of  the  disuse  of  strong  drink. 

The  decision  to  build  a  new  fort  having  been  reached  in  the 
next  spring,  the  moving  spirit  of  the  trade  on  the  coast,  James 
Douglas,  with  fifteen  men,  fully  supplied  with  food  and 
necessary  implements,  crossed  in  the  Beaver  from  Nisqually, 
like  another  Eneas  leaving  his  untenable  city  behind  to  build 
a  new  Troy  elsewhere.  On  the  next  day,  March  13th,  the 
vessel  came  to  anchor  opposite  the  new  site. 

A  graphic  writer  has  given  us  the  description  of  the  beautiful 
spot :  "  The  view  landwards  was  enchanting.  Before  them 
lay  a  vast  body  of  land,  upon  which  no  white  man  then  stood. 
Not  a  human  habitation  was  in  sight ;  not  a  beast,  scarcely  a 
bird.  Even  the  gentle  murmur  of  the  voiceless  wood  was 
drowned  by  the  gentle  beating  of  the  surf  upon  the  shore. 
There  was  something  specially  charming,  bewitching  in  the 
place.  Though  wholly  natural  it  did  not  seem  so.  It  was  not 


4io  THE   HUDSON'S  BAY   COMPANY 

at  all  like  pure  art,  but  it  was  as  though  nature  and  art  had 
combined  to  map  out  and  make  one  of  the  most  pleasing 
prospects  in  the  world." 

The  visitor  looking  at  the  City  of  Victoria  in  British 
Columbia  to-day  will  say  that  the  description  is  in  no  way 
overdrawn.  Not  only  is  the  site  one  of  the  most  charming  on 
the  earth,  but  as  the  spectator  turns  about  he  is  entranced  with 
the  view  on  the  mainland,  of  Mount  Olympia,  so  named  by 
that  doughty  captain,  John  Meares,  more  than  fifty  years 
before  the  founding  of  this  fort. 

The  place  had  been  already  chosen  for  a  village  and  fortifica- 
tion by  the  resident  tribe,  the  Songhies,  and  went  by  the  Indian 
name  of  Camosun.  The  Indian  village  was  a  mile  distant  from 
the  entrance  to  the  harbour.  When  the  Beaver  came  to 
anchor,  a  gun  was  fired,  which  caused  a  commotion  among  the 
natives,  who  were  afraid  to  draw  near  the  intruding  vessel. 
Next  morning,  however,  the  sea  was  alive  with  canoes  of  the 
Songhies. 

The  trader  immediately  landed,  chose  the  site  for  his  post, 
and  found  at  a  short  distance  tall  and  straight  cedar-trees, 
which  afforded  material  for  the  stockades  of  the  fort.  Douglas 
explained  to  the  Indians  the  purpose  of  his  coming,  and  held 
up  to  them  bright  visisons  of  the  beautiful  things  he  would 
bring  them  to  exchange  for  their  furs.  He  also  employed  the 
Indians  in  obtaining  for  him  the  cedar  posts  needed  for  his 
palisades. 

The  trader  showed  his  usual  tact  in  employing  a  most  potent 
means  of  gaining  an  influence  over  the  savages  by  bringing  the 
Jesuit  Father  Balduc,  who  had  been  upon  the  island  before 
and  was  known  to  the  natives.  Gathering  the  three  tribes  of 
the  south  of  the  island,  the  Songhies,  Clallams,  and  Cowichins, 
into  a  great  rustic  chapel  which  had  been  prepared,  Father 
Balduc  held  an  impressive  religious  service,  and  shortly  after 
visited  a  settlement  of  the  Skagits,  a  thousand  strong,  and 
there  too,  in  a  building  erected  for  public  worship,  performed 
the  important  religious  rites  of  his  Church  before  the  wondering 
savages. 

It  was  the  intention  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  to  make 
the  new  fort  at  Camosun,  which  they  first  called  Fort  Albert, 


FROM   OREGON    TO    VANCOUVER   ISLAND    411 

and  afterwards  Fort  Victoria — the  name  now  borne  by  the 
city,  the  chief  trading  depot  on  the  coast. 

As  soon  as  the  buildings  were  well  under  way,  Chief  Factor 
Douglas  sailed  northward  along  the  coast  to  re-arrange  the 
trade.  Fort  Simpson,  which  was  on  the  mainland,  some 
fifteen  degrees  north  of  the  new  fort  and  situated  between  the 
Portland  Canal  and  the  mouth  of  the  Skeena  River,  was  to  be 
retained  as  necessary  for  the  Alaska  trade,  but  the  promising 
officer,  Roderick  Finlayson,  a  young  Scotchman,  who  had 
shown  his  skill  and  honesty  in  the  northern  post,  was  removed 
from  it  and  given  an  important  place  in  the  new  establishment. 
Living  a  useful  and  blameless  life,  he  was  allowed  to  see  the 
new  fort  become  before  his  death  a  considerable  city.  Charles 
Ross,  the  master  of  Fort  McLoughlin,  being  senior  to  Finlay- 
son, was  for  the  time  being  placed  in  charge  of  the  new  venture. 
The  three  minor  forts,  Taku,  Stikine,  and  McLoughlin, 
were  now  closed,  and  the  policy  of  consolidation  led  to  Fort 
Victoria  at  once  rising  into  importance. 

On  the  return  of  the  chief  factor  from  his  northern  expedi- 
tion, with  all  the  employes  and  stores  from  the  deserted  posts, 
the  work  at  Fort  Victoria  went  on  apace.  The  energetic 
master  had  now  at  his  disposal  fifty  good  men,  and  while 
some  were  engaged  at  the  buildings — either  storehouses  or 
dwellings — others  built  the  defences.  Two  bastions  of  solid 
block  work  were  erected,  thirty  feet  high,  and  these  were  con- 
nected by  palisades  or  stockades  of  posts  twenty  feet  high, 
driven  into  the  earth  side  by  side.  The  natives  encamped 
alongside  the  new  work,  looked  on  with  interest,  but  as  they 
had  not  their  wives  and  children  with  them,  the  traders 
viewed  them  with  suspicion.  On  account  of  the  watchfulness 
of  the  builders,  the  Indians,  beyond  a  few  acts  of  petty  theft, 
did  not  interfere  with  the  newcomers  in  their  enterprise. 

Three  months  saw  the  main  features  of  the  fort  completed. 
On  entering  the  western  gate  of  the  fort,  to  the  right  was  to 
be  seen  a  cottage -shaped  building,  the  post  office,  then  the 
smithy  ;  further  along  the  walls  were  the  large  storehouse, 
carpenter's  shop,  men's  dormitory,  and  the  boarding-house  for 
the  raw  recruits.  Along  the  east  wall  were  the  chapel, 
chaplain's  house,  then  the  officers'  dining-room,  and  cook-house 


412  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

attached.  Along  the  north  wall  was  a  double  row  of  store- 
houses for  furs  and  goods,  and  behind  them  the  gunpowder 
magazine.  In  the  north-west  corner  was  the  cottage  resi- 
dence of  the  chief  factor  and  his  family. 

The  defences  of  the  fort  were  important,  consisting  of  two 
bastions  on  the  western  angles,  and  these  contained  six  or 
eight  nine-pounders.  The  south  tower  was  the  real  fort  from 
which  salutes  were  fired  ;  the  north  tower  was  a  prison  ;  and 
near  the  western  or  front  gate  stood  the  belfry  erection  and  on 
its  top  the  flag-staff.  Such  was  the  first  Fort  Albert  or 
Victoria. 

Victoria  rapidly  grew  into  notice,  and  in  due  time  Roderick 
Finlayson,  the  man  of  adaptation  and  force,  on  the  death  of 
his  superior  officer  became  chief  factor  in  charge.  The  writer 
met  the  aged  fur  trader  years  after  he  had  retired  from  active 
service,  and  spent  with  him  some  hours  of  cheerful  discourse. 
Large  and  commanding  in  form,  Finlayson  had  the  marks  of 
governing  ability  about  him.  He  lacked  the  adroitness  of 
McLoughlin,  the  instability  of  Tod,  and  the  genius  of  Douglas, 
but  he  was  a  typical  Scotchman,  steady,  patient,  and  trust- 
worthy. Like  an  old  patriarch,  he  spent  his  last  days  in 
Victoria,  keeping  a  large  extent  of  vacant  city  property  in  a 
common.  Urged  again  and  again  to  sell  it  when  it  had  become 
valuable,  the  sturdy  pioneer  replied  that  he  "  needed  it  to 
pasture  his  '  coo/  ' 

One  of  the  tilings  most  striking  in  all  the  early  traders  was 
their  ability  to  master  language.  Many  of  the  officers  of  the 
Company  were  able  to  speak  four  languages.  On  the  Pacific 
Coast,  on  account  of  the  many  Indian  tongues  differing  much 
from  each  other,  there  grew  up  a  language  of  commerce,  known 
as  the  Chinook  jargon.  It  was  a  most  remarkable  pheno- 
menon ;  it  is  still  largely  in  use.  The  tribe  most  familiar  to 
the  traders  at  the  beginning  of  the  century  was  the  Chinooks. 
English-speaking,  French,  and  United  States  traders  met  with 
them,  and  along  with  them  the  Kanakas,  or  Sandwich  Island 
workmen,  with  many  bands  of  coast  Indians. 

A  trade  has  developed  upon  the  Pacific  Coast,  the  Chinook 
jargon  has  grown,  and  now  numbers  some  five  hundred  words. 
Of  these,  nearly  half  were  Chinook  in  origin,  a  number  were 


FROM   OREGON    TO    VANCOUVER   ISLAND    413 

from  other  Indian  languages,  almost  a  hundred  were  French, 
and  less  than  seventy  English,  while  several  were  doubtful. 
The  then  leading  elements  among  the  traders  were  known 
in  the  Jargon  as  respectively,  Pasai-ooks,  French,  a  corruption 
of  Franyais  ;  King  Chautchman  (King  George  man),  English  ; 
and  Boston,  American.  The  following  will  show  the  origin 
and  meaning  of  a  few  words,  showing  changes  made  in  con- 
sonants which  the  Indians  cannot  pronounce. 


French. 
Le  mouton. 
Chapeau. 
Sauvage. 

Jargon. 
Lemoots. 
Seahpo. 
Siwash. 

Meaning. 
Sheep. 
Hat. 
Indian. 

English. 
Fire. 
Coffee. 
Handkerchief. 

Jargon. 
Piah. 
Kaupy. 
Hat'atshum. 

Meaning. 
Fire  or  cook. 
Coffee. 
Handkerchief. 

Chinook. 
Tkalaitanam. 
Thliakso. 

Jargon. 
Kali-tan. 
Yokso. 
Klootchman. 

Meaning. 
Arrow. 
Hair. 
Woman. 

Songs,  hymns,  sermons,  and  translations  of  portions  of  the 
Bible  are  made  in  the  jargon,  and  used  by  missionaries  and 
teachers.  Several  dictionaries  of  the  dialect  have  been 
published. 

Among  the  out-standing  men  who  were  contemporaries 
upon  the  Pacific  Coast  of  Finlayson  were  the  two  brothers 
Ermatinger.  Already  it  has  been  stated  that  they  were 
nephews  of  the  famous  old  trader  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie.  Their 
father  had  preferred  England  to  Canada,  and  had  gone  thither. 
His  two  sons,  Edward  and  Francis,  were,  as  early  as  1818, 
apprenticed  by  their  father  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and 
sent  on  the  Company's  ship  to  Rupert's  Land,  by  way  of  York 
Factory.  Edward,  whose  autobiographical  sketch,  hitherto 
unpublished,  lies  before  us,  tells  us  that  he  spent  ten  years 
in  the  fur  trade,  being  engaged  at  York  Factory,  Oxford 
House,  Red  River,  and  on  the  Columbia  River.  Desirous  of 
returning  to  the  service  after  lie  had  gone  back  to  Canada,  he 
had  received  an  appointment  to  Rupert's  Land  again  from 
Governor  Simpson.  This  was  cancelled  by  the  Governor  on 


414  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

account  of  a  grievous  quarrel  with  old  Charles,  the  young 
trader's  uncle,  on  a  sea  voyage  with  the  Governor  to  Britain. 
For  many  years,  however,  Edward  Ermatinger  lived  at 
St.  Thomas,  Ontario,  where  his  son,  the  respected  Judge 
Ermatinger,  still  resides.  The  old  gentleman  became  a  great 
authority  on  Hudson's  Bay  affairs,  and  received  many  letters 
from  the  traders,  especially,  it  would  seem,  from  those  who  had 
grievances  against  the  Company  or  against  its  strong-willed 
Governor. 

Francis  Ermatinger,  the  other  brother,  spent  between  thirty 
and  forty  years  in  the  Far  West,  especially  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 
An  unpublished  journal  of  Francis  Ermatinger  lies  before  us. 
It  is  a  clear  and  vivid  account  of  an  expedition  to  revenge  the 
death  of  a  trader,  Alexander  Mackenzie,  and  four  men  who  had 
been  basely  murdered  (1828)  by  the  tribe  of  Clallam  Indians. 
The  party,  under  Chief  Factor  Alexander  McLeod,  attacked 
one  band  of  Indians  and  severely  punished  them  ;  then  from 
the  ship  Cadboro  on  the  coast,  a  bombardment  of  the  Indian 
village  took  place,  in  which  many  of  the  tribe  of  the  murderers 
were  killed,  but  whether  the  criminals  suffered  was  never 
known. 

That  Francis  Ermatinger  was  one  of  the  most  hardy,  deter- 
mined, and  capable  of  the  traders  is  shown  by  a  remarkable 
journey  made  by  him,  under  orders  from  Sir  George  Simpson 
on  his  famous  journey  round  the  world.  Ermatinger  had  left 
Fort  Vancouver  in  charge  of  a  party  of  trappers  to  visit  the 
interior  of  California.  Sir  George,  having  heard  of  him  in  the 
upper  waters  of  one  of  the  rivers  of  the  coast,  ordered  him  to 
meet  him  at  Monterey.  This  Ermatinger  undertook  to  do, 
and  after  a  terrific  journey,  crossing  snowy  chains  of  moun- 
tains, fierce  torrents  in  a  country  full  of  pitfalls,  reached  the 
imperious  Governor.  Ermatinger  had  assumed  the  disguise 
of  a  Spanish  caballero,  and  was  recognized  by  his  superior 
officer  with  some  difficulty.  Ermatinger  wrote  numerous 
letters  to  his  brothers  in  Canada,  which  contained  details  of 
the  hard  but  exciting  life  he  was  leading. 

Most  unique  and  peculiar  of  all  the  traders  on  the  Pacific 
Coast  was  John  Tod,  who  first  appeared  as  a  trader  in  the 
Selkirk  settlement  and  wrote  a  number  of  the  Hajgrave  letters. 


FROM    OREGON    TO    VANCOUVER    ISLAND    415 

In  1823  he  was  sent  by  Governor  Simpson,  it  is  said,  to  New 
Caledonia  as  to  the  penal  settlement  of  the  fur  traders,  but  the 
young  Scotchman  cheerfully  accepted  his  appointment.  He 
became  the  most  noted  letter-writer  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  indeed 
he  might  be  called  the  prince  of  controversialists  among  the 
traders.  There  lies  before  the  writer  a  bundle  of  long  letters 
written  over  a  number  of  years  by  Tod  to  Edward  Ermatinger. 
Tod,  probably  for  the  sake  of  argument,  advocated  loose  views 
as  to  the  validity  of  the  Scriptures,  disbelief  of  many  of  the 
cardinal  Christian  doctrines,  and  in  general  claimed  the 
greatest  latitude  of  belief.  It  is  very  interesting  to  see  how 
the  solemn-minded  and  orthodox  Ermatingor  strives  to  lead 
him  into  the  true  way.  Tod  certainly  had  little  effect  upon 
his  faithful  correspondent,  and  shows  the  greatest  regard  for 
his  admonitions. 

The  time  of  Sir  George  Simpson's  visit  to  the  coast  on  his 
journey  round  the  world  was  one  of  much  agitation  as  to  the 
boundary  line  between  the  British  and  United  States  posses- 
sions on  the  Pacific  Coast.  By  the  treaty  of  1825  Russia  and 
Britain  had  come  to  an  agreement  that  the  Russian  strip  along 
the  coast  should  reach  southward  only  to  54  deg.  40'  N.  lat. 
The  United  States  mentioned  its  claim  to  the  coast  as  far  north 
as  the  Russian  boundary.  However  preposterous  it  may  seem, 
yet  it  was  maintained  by  the  advocates  of  the  Munroe  doctrine 
that  Great  Britain  had  no  share  of  the  coast  at  all.  The 
urgency  of  the  American  claim  became  so  great  that  the 
popular  mind  seemed  disposed  to  favour  contesting  this  claim 
with  arms.  Thus  originated  the  famous  saying,  "  Fifty-four, 
forty,  or  fight."  The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  closely 
associated  with  the  dispute,  the  more  that  Fort  Vancouver  on 
the  Columbia  River  might  be  south  of  the  boundary  line, 
though  their  action  of  building  Fort  Victoria  was  shown  to  be 
a  wise  and  timely  step.  At  length  in  1846  the  treaty  between 
Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  was  made  and  the  bound- 
ary line  established.  The  Oregon  Treaty,  known  in  some 
quarters  as  the  Ashburton  Treaty,  provided  that  the  49th 
parallel  of  latitude  should  on  the  mainland  be  the  boundary, 
thus  handing  over  Fort  Vancouver,  Walla  Walla,  Colvillo, 
Nisqually,  and  Okanagan  to  the  United  States,  and  taking 


416  THE    HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

them  from  their  rightful  owners,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 
Article  two  of  the  great  treaty,  however,  stated  that  the  Com- 
pany should  enjoy  free  navigation  of  the  Columbia  River, 
while  the  third  article  provided  that  the  possessory  rights  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and  all  other  British  subjects  on 
the  south  side  of  the  boundary  line  should  be  respected. 

The  decision  in  regard  to  the  boundary  led  to  changes  in  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  establishments.  Dr.  McLoughlin, 
having  lost  the  confidence  of  the  Company,  threw  in  his  lot 
with  his  United  States  home,  and  retired  in  the  year  of  the 
treaty  to  Oregon  City,  where  he  died  a  few  years  after.  His 
name  is  remembered  as  that  of  an  impulsive,  good-hearted, 
somewhat  rash,  but  always  well-meaning  man. 

Though  Fort  Victoria  became  the  depot  for  the  coast  of  the 
trade  of  the  Company,  Fort  Vancouver,  with  a  reduced  staff, 
was  maintained  for  a  number  of  years  by  the  Company.  While 
under  charge  of  Chief  Trader  Wark,  a  part  of  the  fields  belong- 
ing to  the  Company  at  Fort  Vancouver  were  in  a  most  high- 
handed manner  seized  by  the  United  States  for  military  pur- 
poses. The  senior  officer,  Mr.  Grahame,  on  his  return  from  an 
absence,  protested  against  the  invasion.  In  June,  1860,  how- 
ever, the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  withdrew  from  the  Columbia. 
The  great  herd  of  wild  cattle  which  had  grown  up  on  the 
Columbia  were  disposed  of  by  the  Company  to  a  merchant  of 
Oregon.  The  Company  thus  retired  to  the  British  side  of  the 
boundary  line  during  the  three  years  closing  with  1860. 

Steps  were  taken  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  to  obtain 
compensation  from  the  United  States  authorities.  A  long  and 
wearisome  investigation  took  place  ;  witnesses  were  called  and 
great  diversity  of  opinion  prevailed  as  to  the  value  of  the 
interest  of  the  Company  in  its  forts.  The  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany claimed  indemnity  amounting  to  the  sum  of  2,000,000 
dols.  Witnesses  for  the  United  States  gave  one-tenth  of  that 
amount  as  a  fair  value.  Compensation  of  a  moderate  kind 
was  at  length  made  to  the  Company  by  the  United  States. 

On  its  withdrawal  from  Oregon  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
decided  on  opening  up  communication  with  the  interior  of  the 
mainland  up  the  Fraser  River.  This  was  a  task  of  no  small 
magnitude,  on  account  of  the  rugged  and  forbidding  banks  of 


FROM   OREGON    TO    VANCOUVER   ISLAND    417 

this  great  river.  A.  Caulfield  Anderson,  an  officer  who  had 
been  in  the  Company's  service  for  some  fourteen  years  before 
the  date  of  the  Oregon  Treaty  and  was  in  charge  of  a  post  on 
the  Fraser  River,  was  given  the  duty  of  finding  the  road  to  the 
interior.  He  was  successful  in  tracing  a  road  from  Fort 
Langley  to  Kamloops.  The  Indians  offered  opposition  to 
Anderson,  but  he  succeeded  in  spite  of  all  hindrances,  and 
though  other  routes  were  sought  for  and  suggested,  yet  Ander- 
son's road  by  way  of  the  present  town  of  Hope  and  Lake 
Nicola  to  Kamloops  afterwards  became  one  great  waggon  road 
to  the  interior.  No  sooner  had  the  boundary  line  been  fixed 
than  agitation  arose  to  prepare  the  territory  north  of  the  line 
for  a  possible  influx  of  agriculturists  or  miners  and  also  to  main- 
tain the  coast  true  to  British  connection.  The  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  applied  to  the  British  Government  for  a  grant  of 
Vancouver  Island,  which  they  held  under  a  lease  good  for 
twelve  years  more.  Mr.  Gladstone  opposed  the  application, 
but  considering  it  the  best  thing  to  be  done  in  the  circum- 
stances, the  Government  made  the  grant  (1847)  to  the  Company 
under  certain  conditions.  The  Company  agreed  to  colonize 
the  island,  to  sell  the  lands  at  moderate  rates  to  settlers,  and 
to  apply  nine-tenths  of  the  receipts  toward  public  improve- 
ments. The  Company  entered  heartily  into  the  project, 
issued  a  prospectus  for  settlers,  and  hoped  in  five  years  to  have 
a  considerable  colony  established  on  the  Island. 

Steps  were  taken  by  the  British  Government  to  organize  the 
new  colony.  The  head  of  the  Government  applied  to  the 
Governor  of  the  Company  to  name  a  Governor.  Chief  Factor 
Douglas  was  suggested,  but  probably  thinking  an  independent 
man  would  be  more  suitable,  the  Government  gave  the  appoint- 
ment to  a  man  of  respectability,  Richard  Blanshard,  in  the 
end  of  1849. 

The  new  Governor  arrived,  but  no  preparations  had  been 
made  for  his  reception.  No  salary  was  provided  for  his  main- 
tenance, and  the  attitude  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
officially  at  Fort  Victoria  was  decidedly  lacking  in  heartiness. 
Governor  Blanshard's  position  was  nothing  more  than  an 
empty  show.  He  issued  orders  and  proclamations  which  were 
disregarded.  He  visited  Fort  Rupert,  which  had  been  founded 
E  e 


4i8  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

by  the  Company  on  the  north-east  angle  of  the  island,  and 
there  held  an  investigation  of  a  murder  of  three  sailors  by  the 
Newitty  Indians.  Governor  Blanshard  spent  much  of  his  time 
writing  pessimistic  reports  of  the  country  to  Britain,  and 
after  a  residence  of  a  year  and  a  half  returned  to  England, 
thoroughly  soured  on  account  of  his  treatment  by  the 
officers  of  the  Company. 

The  colonization  of  Vancouver  Island  proved  very  slow.  A 
company  of  miners  for  Nanaimo,  and  another  of  farmers  for 
Sooke,  near  Victoria,  came,  but  during  Governor  Blanshard's 
rule  only  one  bona-fide  sale  of  land  was  made,  and  five  years 
after  the  cession  to  the  Company  there  were  less  than  five 
hundred  colonists.  Chief  Factor  Douglas  succeeded  to  the 
governorship  and  threw  his  accustomed  energy  into  his 
administration.  The  cry  of  monopoly,  ever  a  popular  one, 
was  raised,  and  inasmuch  as  the  colony  was  not  increasing 
sufficiently  to  satisfy  the  Imperial  Government,  the  great  Com- 
mittee of  the  House  of  Commons  of  1857  was  appointed  to 
examine  the  whole  relation  of  the  Company  to  Rupert's  Land 
and  the  Indian  territories.  The  result  of  the  inquiry  was  that 
it  was  decided  to  relieve  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  of  the 
charge  of  Vancouver  Island  at  the  time  of  expiry  of  their  lease. 
The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  thus  withdrew  on  the  Pacific 
Coast  to  the  position  of  a  private  trading  company,  though  Sir 
James  Douglas,  who  was  knighted  in  1863,  continued  Governor 
of  the  Crown  Colony  of  Vancouver  Island,  with  the  added 
responsibility  of  the  territory  on  the  mainland. 

At  this  juncture  the  gold  discovery  in  the  mainland  called 
much  attention  to  the  country.  Thousands  of  miners  rushed 
at  once  to  the  British  possessions  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  Fort 
Victoria,  from  being  a  lonely  traders'  post,  grew  as  if  by  magic 
into  a  city.  Thousands  of  miners  betook  themselves  to  the 
Fraser  River,  and  sought  the  inland  gold-fields.  All  this 
compelled  a  more  complete  organization  than  the  mere  over- 
sight of  the  mainland  by  Governor  Douglas  in  his  capacity  as 
head  of  the  fur  trade.  Accordingly  the  British  Government 
determined  to  relieve  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  of  responsi- 
bility for  the  mainland,  which  they  held  under  a  licence  soon 
to  expire,  and  to  erect  New  Caledonia  and  the  Indian  territories 


FROM   OREGON    TO    VANCOUVER   ISLAND    419 

of  the  coast  into  a  separate  Crown  Colony  under  the  name  of 
British  Columbia.  In  Lord  Lytton's  dispatches  to  Governor 
Douglas,  to  whom  the  governorship  of  both  of  the  colonies  of 
Vancouver  Island  and  British  Columbia  was  offered,  the  con- 
dition is  plainly  stated  that  he  would  be  required  to  sever  his 
connection  with  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and  the  Puget 
Sound  Agricultural  Company,  and  to  be  independent  of  all 
local  interests.  Here  we  leave  Sir  James  Douglas  immersed 
in  his  public  duties  of  governing  the  two  colonies,  which  in  time 
became  one  province  under  the  name  of  British  Columbia,  thus 
giving  up  the  guidance  of  the  fur- trading  stations  for  whose 
up-building  he  had  striven  for  fifty  years. 

The  posts  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  on  the  Pacific 
Coast  in  1857  were  : — 

Vancouver  Island —  North- West  Coast — 
Fort  Victoria.  Fort  Simpson. 

Fort  Rupert.  New  Caledonia— 
Nanaimo.  Stuart  Lake. 

Fraser  River—  McLeod  Lake. 

Fort  Langley.  V**3**  Lake- 

Alexandria. 

Thompson  River —  Fort  George. 

Kamloops.  Babines. 

Fort  Hope.  Connolly  Lake. 


CHAPTER   XLI. 

PRO   GLORIA   DEI. 

A  vast  region — First  spiritual  adviser — A  locum  tenens — Two  French 
Canadian  priests — St.  Boniface  founded — Missionary  zeal  in 
Mackenzie  River  district — Red  River  parishes — The  great  Arch- 
bishop Tache — John  West — Archdeacon  Cochrane,  the  founder 
—  John  McCallum  —  Bishop  Anderson  —  English  Missionary 
Societies — Archbishop  Machray — Indian  Missions — John  Black, 
the  Presbyterian  apostle — Methodist  Missions  on  Lake  Winnipeg — 
The  Cree  syllabic — Chaplain  Staines — Bishop  Cridge — Missionary 
Duncan — Metlakahtla — Roman  Catholic  coast  missions — Church 
of  England  bishop — Diocese  of  New  Westminster — Dr.  Evans — 
Robert  Jamieson — Education. 

WHEREVER  British  influence  has  gone  throughout  the  world 
the  Christian  faith  of  the  British  people  has  followed.  It  is 
true,  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  the  ships  to  Hudson  Bay 
crossed  regularly  to  the  forts  on  the  Bay,  and  beyond  certain 
suggestions  as  to  service  to  the  employes,  no  recognition  of 
religion  took  place  on  Hudson  Bay,  and  no  Christian  clergyman 
or  missionary  visitor  found  his  way  thither.  The  Company 
was  primarily  a  trading  company,  its  forts  were  far  apart,  and 
there  were  few  men  at  any  one  point. 

The  first  heralds  of  the  Cross,  indeed,  to  reach  Rupert's  Land 
were  the  French  priests  who  accompanied  Verendrye,  though 
they  seem  to  have  made  no  settlements  in  the  territory.  It  is 
said  that  after  the  conquest  of  Canada,  when  the  French 
traders  had  withdrawn  from  the  North- West,  except  a  few 
traditions  in  one  of  the  tribes,  no  trace  of  Christianity  was  left 
behind. 

The  first  clergyman  to  arrive  in  Rupert's  Land  was  in  con- 
nection with  Lord  Selkirk's  colony  in  1811.  A  party  of  Lord 
Selkirk's  first  colonists  having  come  from  Sligo,  the  founder 
sent  one  Father  Bourke  to  accompany  the  party  to  Red  River. 

420 


PRO    GLORIA    DEI  421 

The  wintering  at  York  Factory  seems  to  have  developed  some 
unsatisfactory  traits  in  the  spiritual  adviser,  and  he  did  not 
proceed  further  than  the  shore  of  the  Bay,  but  returned  to  his 
native  land. 

The  necessity  of  providing  certain  spiritual  oversight  for  his 
Scottish  colonists  occupied  Lord  Selkirk's  mind.  In  1815 
James  Sutherland,  an  elder  authorized  by  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land to  baptize  and  marry,  arrived  with  one  of  the  bands  of 
colonists  at  Red  River.  The  first  point  in  the  agreement 
between  Lord  Selkirk  and  his  colonists  was  "  to  have  the 
services  of  a  minister  of  their  own  church."  This  was  Lord 
Selkirk's  wish,  and  Mr.  Sutherland  was  sent  as  locum  tenens. 
For  three  years  this  devout  man  performed  the  duties  of  his 
sacred  office,  until  in  the  conflict  between  the  rival  Companies 
he  was  forcibly  taken  away  to  Canada  by  the  North- West 
Company. 

Lord  Selkirk  entered  into  correspondence  with  the  Roman 
Catholic  authorities  in  Lower  Canada  as  to  their  appointing 
priests  to  take  charge  of  the  French  and  De  Meurons  of  his 
colony.  We  have  already  seen  in  the  sketch  of  John  McLeod 
that  two  French  priests,  Joseph  Norbert  Provencher  and 
Severe  Dumoulin,  proceeded  to  the  North-West  and  took  up 
a  position  on  the  east  side  of  Red  River  nearly  opposite  the 
site  of  the  demolished  Fort  Gibraltar.  On  account  of  tho 
preponderance  of  the  German-speaking  De  Meurons,  the  settle- 
ment was  called  St.  Boniface,  after  the  German  patron  saint. 
Though  these  pioneer  priests  endured  hardships  and  poverty, 
they  energetically  undertook  their  work,  and  maintained  a 
school  in  which,  shortly  after,  we  are  told,  there  were  scholars 
in  the  "  Humanities." 

With  great  zeal  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  has  carried  its 
missions  to  the  Indians,  even  to  distant  Athabasca  and  Mac- 
kenzie River.  In  1822  the  Priest  Provencher  was  made  a 
bishop  under  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Juliopolis  (in  partibus  in- 
fidelium).  His  jurisdiction  included  Rupert's  Land  and  the 
North-West  or  Indian  territories.  Besides  the  work  among  the 
Indians,  the  Bishop  organized  the  French  settlements  along  the 
Red  and  Assiniboine  Rivers  into  parishes.  In  addition  to  St. 
Boniface,  some  of  these  were  St,  Norbert,  St.  Fra^ois 


422  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Xavier,  St.  Charles,  St.  Vital,  and  the  like,  until,  at  the  close 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  rule  in  1869,  there  were  nine 
French  parishes. 

The  Indian  missions  have  been  largely  carried  on  by  a 
Society  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  known  as  the  Oblate 
Fathers.  A  sisterhood  of  the  Grey  Nuns  have  also  taken 
a  strong  hold  of  the  North-West. 

In  the  year  1844  a  young  French  priest  named  Alexandre 
Antonin  Tache  came  to  the  North-West  and  led  the  way  in 
carrying  the  faith  among  the  Indians  of  the  Mackenzie  River. 
A  most  interesting  work  of  Father  Tache,  called ' '  Vingt  Annees 
de  Missions,"  gives  the  life  and  trials  of  this  devoted  mission- 
ary. In  a  few  years  the  young  priest  was  appointed  coadjutor 
of  Bishop  Provencher,  and  on  the  death  of  that  prelate  in  1853, 
young  Monseigneur  Tache  succeeded  to  the  see  under  the  name 
of  the  Bishop  of  St.  Boniface.  Bishop  Tache  became  a  notable 
man  of  the  Red  River  settlement.  He  was  a  man  of  much 
breadth  of  view,  kindliness  of  manner,  and  of  great  religious 
zeal.  As  an  educational  and  public  man,  he  wielded,  during 
the  whole  time  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  later  regime,  a 
potent  influence.  A  year  or  two  after  the  elevation  of  Bishop 
Tache  to  the  vacant  place  of  Bishop  Provencher,  Bishop 
Grandin  was  appointed  a  bishop  of  the  interior  and  took  up  his 
abode  at  He  a  la  Crosse.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church  has 
done  much  in  bringing  many  wild  tribes  under  the  civilizing 
influence  of  Christianity. 

Though  Lord  Selkirk  was  compelled  to  betake  himself  to 
France  in  1820  in  search  of  health,  he  did  not  forget  his  promise 
to  his  Scottish  colonists  on  Red  River.  He  entrusted  the  task 
of  procuring  a  clergyman  for  them  to  Mr.  John  Pritchard,  who, 
we  have  seen,  had  entered  the  service  of  his  Lordship.  Prit- 
chard, acting  under  the  direction  of  the  committee  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  seems  to  have  taken  a  course  that 
Lord  Selkirk  would  hardly  have  approved.  To  some  extent 
disregarding  the  promise  made  to  the  Scottish  settlers,  either 
the  agent  or  the  committee  applied  to  the  Church  Missionary 
Society  to  appoint  a  chaplain  for  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
at  Red  River. 

The  choice  made  was  a  most  judicious  one,  being  that  of 


PRO    GLORIA    DEI  423 

Rev.  John  West,  who  wrote  a  very  readable  book  on  his 
experiences,  in  which  the  condition  of  the  settlement,  along 
with  an  account  of  his  missionary  labours,  are  described. 
A  little  volume,  written  by  Miss  Tucker,  under  the  name  of 
"  The  Rainbow  of  the  North,"  also  gives  an  interesting  account 
of  the  founding  of  the  Protestant  faith  in  the  settlement. 

Mr.  West  arrived  in  Red  River  settlement  in  October,  1820, 
and  at  once  began  his  labours  by  holding  services  in  Fort  Garry. 
For  a  time  he  was  fully  occupied  in  marrying  many  who  had 
formerly  lived  as  man  and  wife,  though  already  married  after 
the  Indian  fashion,  and  in  baptizing  the  children.  He  at  once 
opened  a  school.  Mr.  West  made  an  exploratory  journey  five 
or  six  hundred  miles  westward,  visiting  Indian  tribes.  In 
1823  he  erected  the  first  Protestant  place  of  worship  on  the 
Red  River,  and  in  the  same  year  was  joined  by  Rev.  David 
Jones,  who  was  left  in  charge  when  Mr.  West  returned  to 
England. 

Two  years  afterwards  Rev.  William  Cochrane  and  his  wife 
arrived  at  Red  River.  Mr.  Cochrane,  afterward  Archdeacon 
Cochrane,  was  a  man  of  striking  personality,  and  to  him  has 
been  given  the  credit  of  laying  the  foundation  of  the  Church  of 
England  in  the  Red  River  settlement.  The  Indians  to  the 
north  of  the  settlement  on  Red  River  were  visited  and  yielded 
readily  to  the  solicitations  of  the  missionaries.  Early  among 
these  self-denying  Indian  missionaries  was  the  Rev.  A.,  after- 
wards Archdeacon,  Cowley.  Churches  were  erected  in  the 
parishes  that  were  set  apart  in  the  same  way  as  the  French 
parishes ;  St.  John's,  St.  Paul's,  St.  Andrew's,  St.  Clement's, 
St.  James,  Headingly,  and  the  like,  to  the  number  of  ten,  were 
each  provided  with  church  and  school. 

Rev.  Mr.  Jones  did  not  neglect  the  educational  interests  of 
his  wide  charge.  Having  become  convinced  of  the  necessity 
of  establishing  a  boarding-school  to  meet  the  wants  of  the 
scattered  families  of  Rupert's  Land,  Mr.  Jones  brought  out 
Mr.  John  McCallum,  a  student  of  King's  College,  Aber- 
deen, who  had  found  his  way  to  London.  Coming  to  Red 
River  in  1833,  McCallum  began  the  school  which  has  since 
become  St.  John's  College.  At  first  this  school  was  under 
the  Church  Missionary  Society,  but  a  decade  after  its  founding 


424  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

it  was  conducted  by  McCallum  himself,  with  an  allowance  from 
the  Company. 

In  1844  an  episcopal  visit  was  made  to  Red  River  by  the 
first  Protestant  Bishop  who  could  reach  the  remote  spot.  This 
was  Dr.  Mountain,  Bishop  of  Montreal.  He  published  a  small 
work  giving  an  account  of  his  visit.  Many  confirmations  took 
place  by  the  Bishop,  and  Mr.  Cowley  was  made  a  priest. 
John  McCallum  had  taken  such  a  hold  upon  the  Selkirk 
settlers  that  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  ordain  him,  and  for 
several  years  he  carried  on  the  school  along  with  the  incum- 
bency of  the  parish  church.  McCallum  only  lived  for  five 
years  after  the  Bishop's  visit. 

In  1838  James  Leith,  a  wealthy  chief  factor  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  bequeathed  in  his  will  twelve  thousand  pounds 
to  be  expended  for  the  benefit  of  the  Indian  missions  in 
Rupert's  Land.  Leith's  family  bitterly  opposed  this  dis- 
position of  their  patrimony,  but  the  Master  of  the  Rolls,  hear- 
ing that  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  willing  to  add  three 
hundred  pounds  annually  to  the  interest  accruing  from  the 
Leith  bequest,  gave  the  decision  against  them,  and  thus  secured 
an  income  to  the  see  of  seven  hundred  pounds  a  year.  In 
1849  the  diocese  of  Rupert's  Land  was  established  by  the 
Crown,  and  Rev.  David  Anderson,  of  Oxford  University,  was 
consecrated  first  Bishop  of  Rupert's  Land.  In  the  autumn  of 
the  same  year  Bishop  Anderson  arrived  at  Red  River,  by  way 
of  York  Factory,  and  his  first  public  duty  was  to  conduct  the 
funeral  of  the  lamented  John  McCallum.  After  an  incum- 
bency of  fifteen  years  Bishop  Anderson  returned  to  England 
and  resigned  the  bishopric. 

In  1865  Dr.  Robert  Machray  arrived  at  Red  River,  having 
been  consecrated  Bishop  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 
Under  Bishop  Anderson  the  college  successfully  begun  by 
McCallum  languished,  for  the  Bishop  seemed  more  intent  on 
mission  work  than  education.  In  the  year  after  his  arrival, 
Bishop  Machray  revived  the  institution  under  the  name  of 
St.  John's  College.  It  was  of  much  service  to  the  colony. 

By  the  time  of  the  passing  away  of  the  power  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  four  years  after  the  arrival  of  Bishop  Machray, 
substantial  stone  churches  and  school-houses  had  been  erected 


PRO    GLORIA    DEI  425 

in  almost  all  of  the  parishes  mentioned  as  organized  by  the 
Church  of  England.  To  the  Church  of  England  belonged 
nearly  all  the  English-speaking  half-breed  population  of  the 
colony,  as  well  as  a  large  number  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany officers. 

Bishop  Machray's  diocese  covered  a  vast  area.  From 
Hudson  Bay  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  was  under  his  jurisdic- 
tion. Much  work  was  done  amongst  the  Indian  tribes.  At 
Moose  Factory  on  the  Bay,  another  devoted  labourer  was 
working  diligently.  It  is  true  the  missions  were  widely  scat- 
tered, but  of  the  twenty-four  clergymen  belonging  to  the  dio- 
cese of  Rupert's  Land,  fifteen  were  among  the  Indians  at  the 
time  of  the  cessation  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  rule. 
The  remainder  wore  in  the  parishes  of  Red  River  such  as  St. 
John's,  St.  Andrew's,  St.  Paul's,  Headingly,  Poplar  Point,  and 
Portage  la  Prairie. 

The  assistance  rendered  not  only  by  the  Church  Missionary 
Society,  but  also  by  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,  the  Colonial  and  Continental  Church 
Society,  and  the  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Christian  Know- 
ledge, was  very  great,  and  future  generations  will  be  indebted 
to  the  benevolence  and  liberality  of  the  English  people  in 
sending  spiritual  assistance  to  Rupert's  Land. 

A  perusal  of  the  work,  "Red  River  Settlement,"  by  Alex- 
ander Ross,  shows  that  a  long  and  somewhat  disappointing 
struggle  was  maintained  by  the  Selkirk  settlers  to  obtain  the 
fulfilment  of  Lord  Selkirk's  promise  to  send  them  a  minister  of 
their  own  faith.  Scottish  governors  came  and  departed,  but 
no  Scottish  minister  came.  Sir  George  Simpson  arrived  on  his 
yearly  visits  at  Fort  Garry,  and  was  often  interviewed  by  the 
settlers  of  Kildonan,  but  the  Governor,  though  pleasant  and 
plausible  enough,  was  impenetrable  as  the  sphinx.  Petitions 
were  sent  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and  to  the  Scottish 
General  Assembly,  but  they  seldom  reached  their  destination 
and  effected  nothing. 

The  people  conformed  to  the  service  of  the  Church  of 
England  in  the  vicinity  of  their  parish.  They  were  treated  by 
the  Episcopal  clergy  with  much  consideration.  Their  own 
psalter  was  used  in  their  worship,  the  service  was  made  as 


426  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

simple  as  they  could  well  desire,  but  the  people,  with  High- 
land tenacity,  held  to  their  own  tenets  for  forty  years,  and 
maintained  among  themselves  regular  cottage  meetings  for 
prayer  and  praise. 

At  length  the  question  arose  as  to  the  possession  of  the 
church  property  and  the  right  of  burial  in  St.  John's  burial- 
ground.  The  Scottish  settlers  maintained  their  right  to  the 
church  and  churchyard.  A  very  acrimonious  discussion  arose. 
In  the  end  the  matter  was  referred  to  Mr.  Eden  Colville,  a 
Company  director,  who  was  in  the  settlement  on  business. 
Mr.  Colville  informed  the  writer  that  he  claimed  the  credit  of 
settling  the  dispute.  Another  site  on  the  river  bank  two  or 
three  miles  to  the  north  of  St.  John's,  called  La  Grenouillere, 
or  Frog  Plain,  consisting  of  several  hundred  acres,  was  handed 
over  to  the  Scottish  settlers  for  church,  manse,  and  glebe. 
This  was  in  1851,  and  though  the  Kildonan  people  were  still 
given  the  right  to  bury  their  dead  in  St.  John's,  in  the  future 
their  chief  interest  centred  in  the  new  plot. 

The  presence  in  Red  River  of  Mr.  Ballenden,  a  countryman 
of  the  Kildonan  people,  as  Hudson's  Bay  Company  Governor 
of  Fort  Garry,  led  to  an  application  being  made  to  their 
friends  in  Scotland  to  send  them  a  minister.  Indeed,  the  call 
had  been  made  again  and  again  for  a  generation.  This  request 
was  transmitted  to  Canada  to  Dr.  Robert  Burns,  a  man  of 
warm  missionary  zeal  and  great  wisdom.  Sir  George  Simpson 
had  been  communicated  with,  and  deemed  it  wise  to  reverse  his 
former  policy  of  inaction  and  promised  certain  aid  and  counten- 
ance, should  a  Presbyterian  minister  be  found  to  care  for  the 
parish  of  Kildonan. 

Dr.  Burns  had  among  his  acquaintances  a  recent  graduate 
of  Knox  College,  Toronto,  named  John  Black.  Him  the 
zealous  doctor  urged,  if  not  commanded,  to  go  to  Red  River. 
This  trust  was  accepted,  and  after  a  tedious  and  uncertain 
Journey  Rev.  John  Black  arrived  at  Red  River,  September, 
1851.  The  Kildonan  people  immediately  rallied  around  their 
new  clergyman,  who,  though  not  able  to  speak  Gaelic  as  they 
desired,  yet  became  an  idol  to  his  people.  In  1853  a  church 
was  erected,  with  the  aid  of  a  small  grant  from  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  and  the  foundations  of  Presbyterianism  were  laid. 


PRO    GLORIA    DEI  427 

In  1865  Rev.  James  Nisbet,  who  had  come  a  few  years 
before  to  assist  Mr.  Black,  organized  a  mission  to  the  Cree 
Indians,  and  named  his  mission  church  on  the  banks  of  the 
Saskatchewan,  Prince  Albert.  Growing  by  slow  degrees,  the 
Presbyterian  interest  increased  and  was  represented  at  the  end 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  rule  by  four  or  five  clergymen. 
Schools  as  maintained  by  voluntary  contributions  were  erected 
in  the  Presbyterian  parishes  of  Kildonan  and  Little  Britain. 

Manitoba  College  was  planned  and  arranged  for  in  the 
closing  year  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  regime. 

The  Methodists,  with  the  fervour  and  missionary  zeal  which 
has  always  characterized  them,  determined  to  aid  in  evangeliz- 
ing the  Indians  of  Rupert's  Land.  It  was  the  English  Method- 
ists who  first  showed  a  desire  in  this  direction.  They  agreed 
to  send  the  Indians  a  clergyman  suited  for  the  work,  if  the 
Canadian  Methodist  Church  would  send  a  few  labourers 
trained  in  Indian  work  in  Canada. 

James  Evans,  an  Englishman  who  had  been  long  in  Canada, 
and  had  laboured  for  years  among  the  Indians  of  Upper 
Canada,  consented  to  go  to  Rupert's  Land  and  take  the  super- 
intendence of  the  others  sent  out.  Leaving  Montreal  with  the 
three  English  missionaries  and  two  educated  young  Ojibe- 
ways,  Peter  Jacobs  and  Henry  B.  Steinhauser,  the  party  went 
by  canoes  up  the  lakes  and  then  along  the  old  fur  traders' 
route,  and  arrived  at  Norway  House,  at  the  foot  of  Lake  Winni- 
peg, in  1840.  Evans  made  Norway  House  his  head-quarters, 
George  Barnley  went  to  Moose  Factory,  William  Mason  to 
Rainy  Lake  and  River  Winnipeg,  and  Robert  T.  Rundle  to 
Edmonton. 

The  missions  to  the  Hudson  Bay  and  Rainy  Lake  were  soon 
given  up,  but  Rossville  and  Oxford  House,  on  Lake  Winnipeg, 
and  several  points  near  Edmonton,  are  the  evidence  to-day  of 
the  faithful  self-denying  work  done  by  these  early  Methodist 
pioneers.  Having  no  whites  in  the  country,  the  operations  of 
the  Methodist  Church  in  Rupert's  Land  were,  up  to  the  time 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  transfer,  confined  to  the 
Indians  of  Rupert's  Land. 

Mr.  Evans,  the  superintendent  of  these  missions,  became 
very  celebrated  by  the  invention  of  a  syllabic  system  of  writing 


428  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

introduced  among  the  Crees.  The  plan  is  simple,  and  an 
intelligent  Indian  who  has  never  seen  the  system  *  can  in  a 
short  time  learn  to  read  and  write  the  syllabic.  The  syllabic 
has  spread  widely  over  Rupert's  Land,  and  the  different 
Churches  use,  especially  among  the  Crees,  this  ingenious  inven- 
tion in  printing  the  Bible  and  service  books.  When  Lord 
Dufferin,  a  number  of  years  ago,  visited  the  North -West  as 
Governor-General  of  Canada,  on  hearing  of  Evans'  invention 
he  remarked,  "  The  nation  has  given  many  a  man  a  title  and 
a  pension  and  a  resting-place  in  Westminster  Abbey  who  never 
did  half  so  much  for  his  fellow-creatures." 

Some  claim  has  been  made  for  Mason  as  being  the  inventor 
of  this  character,  but  there  seems  to  be  no  ground  for  the  claim. 

John  Ryerson,  a  Canadian  Methodist  divine,  in  1854  visited 
Rupert's  Land  from  Canada,  and  after  seeing  the  missions  on 
Lake  Winnipeg,  went  from  York  Factory  to  England.  The 
taking  over  of  the  mission  by  the  Canadian  Methodist  Church 
resulted  from  this  visit. 

These  are  the  main  movements  of  a  religious  kind  that  took 
place  within  the  borders  of  Rupert's  Land  and  the  territories 
east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  up  to  the  end  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company's  regime.  A  great  service  was  rendered  to  the 
whites  and  Indians  alike,  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  to 
the  Kildonan  settlers,  and  all  the  native  people  by  the  patient 
work  of  the  four  churches  named.  The  best  feeling,  and  in 
many  cases  active  co-operation,  were  given  by  these  churches 
to  each  other.  The  work  done  by  these  churches  laid  the 
foundation  for  the  general  morality  and  advanced  social  life 
which  prevailed  in  Red  River  and  in  the  regions  beyond. 

On  the  Pacific  slope  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  took  an 
immediate  control  of  the  religious  and  educational  instruction 
of  the  people,  upon  the  organization  of  Vancouver  Island  as  a 
colony  (1849).  The  Rev.  Robert  Staines  was  sent  as  chaplain 
and  teacher  to  Fort  Victoria,  and  was  given  a  salary  and  an 
allowance  for  carrying  on  a  boarding-school  in  which  he  wras 
assisted  by  his  wife.  Mr.  Staines  did  not  agree  with  the 
Company,  went  to  Britain  as  a  delegate  from  the  dissatisfied  em- 
ployes, but  died  of  injuries  received  on  his  homeward  voyage. 
1  See  Appendix  F. 


PRO   GLORIA    DEI  429 

Mr.  Staines'  successor  was  the  Rev.  Edward  Cridge.  The 
new  chaplain  was  well  provided  for  by  the  Company,  being 
secured  a  parsonage  and  glebe  of  one  hundred  acres,  and  three 
hundred  pounds  a  year,  one  hundred  pounds  annually  being 
as  chaplain  of  the  Company.  Mr.  Cridge  became  a  prominent 
clergyman  of  the  colony,  but  in  later  years  left  his  mother 
Church  to  become  bishop  of  the  Reformed  Episcopal  Church. 
In  1859  Bishop  Hills  was  made  first  bishop  of  the  united 
colonies  of  Vancouver  Island  and  British  Columbia.  Twenty 
years  afterward  the  diocese  was  divided  into  (1)  Vancouver 
Island  and  the  islands,  as  Diocese  of  Columbia,  (2)  the  southern 
mainland  as  Diocese  of  New  Westminster,  and  (3)  the  northern 
mainland  as  Diocese  of  New  Caledonia.  The  Church  of  England 
in  British  Columbia  has  enjoyed  large  gifts  from  the  Baroness 
Burdett-Coutts. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  missions  of  modern  times  is 
that  of  Metlakahtla,  begun  under  the  auspices  of  the  Church 
of  England  by  William  Duncan.  The  village  he  founded  be- 
came an  example  of  civilization  among  the  Indians,  as  well  as 
a  handmaid  to  the  Christian  work  done.  Unfortunately,  the 
model  Indian  village  has  been  largely  broken  up  by  a  mis- 
understanding between  Mr.  Duncan  and  his  bishop. 

The  first  missionary  of  note  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
on  the  coast  was  Father  Demers,  who  became  Bishop  of 
Vancouver  Island  and  New  Caledonia.  The  Oblate  Fathers 
were  early  on  the  ground  in  British  Columbia,  the  first  of  the 
Order  having  baptized  upwards  of  three  thousand  men,  women, 
and  children  of  Indian  tribes,  the  Songhies,  Saanechs,  and 
Cowichins,  near  Victoria.  Many  churches,  schools,  and 
hospitals  have  been  founded  by  the  energetic  and  self-denying 
Roman  Catholics  who  have  made  British  Columbia  their  home. 
Bishop  Seghers  succeeded  the  venerable  Bishop  Demers  in  his 
diocese. 

Ten  years  after  the  formation  of  Vancouver  Island  as  a  Crown 
colony,  Revs.  Dr.  Evans,  L.  Robson,  and  two  other  ministers 
undertook  work  for  the  Methodist  Church  on  the  coast.  Good 
foundations  were  laid  by  the  clergymen  named,  and  still  better 
by  Rev.  Thomas  Crosby,  who  joined  them  after  a  few  years' 
service,  and  entered  heartily  into  efforts  to  evangelize 


430  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY    COMPANY 

the  Indians.  He  had  great  success  among  the  Flathead 
Indians. 

In  1861  the  first  Presbyterian  minister  arrived — Rev.  John 
Hall,  from  Ireland,  and  he  undertook  work  in  Victoria.  In  the 
year  following,  Rev.  Robert  Jamieson  came  from  Canada  as  a 
representative  of  the  Canadian  Presbyterian  Church  and 
settled  at  New  Westminster.  Churches  were  soon  built  in 
Victoria,  Nanaimo,  and  New  Westminster,  that  now  contain 
strong  and  vigorous  congregations. 

All  of  the  churches  were  under  deep  obligations  to  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  for  protection,  assistance,  and 
sympathy  in  their  undertakings  on  the  coast.  The  inrush  of 
gold  seekers  threw  a  great  responsibility  upon  all  the  churches, 
and  it  was  well  that  the  Company,  merely  for  motives  of  self- 
interest,  should  regard  the  influence  of  the  missionaries  among 
the  fierce  tribes  of  the  mountains,  of  both  island  and  mainland, 
as  of  the  greatest  importance.  The  record  of  self-denying 
missionaries  of  the  churches  has  justified  all  the  patronage 
and  favour  rendered  them  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 


CHAPTER    XLII. 
THE  HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY  AND  THE  INDIANS. 

The  Company's  Indian  policy — Character  of  officers — A  race  of  hunters 
—Plan  of  advances — Charges  against  the  Company— Liquor 
restriction — Capital  punishment — Starving  Indians — Diseased 
and  helpless — Education  and  religion — The  age  of  missions — 
Sturdy  Saulteaux— The  Muskegons — Wood  Crees — Wandering 
Plain  Crees — The  Chipewyans — Wild  Assiniboines — Blackfeet 
Indians — Polyglot  coast  tribes — Eskimos — No  Indian  war — No 
police — Pliable  and  docile — Success  of  the  Company. 

FROM  time  to  time  the  opponents  of  the  Company  have 
sought  to  find  grounds  for  the  overthrow  of  the  licence  to 
trade  granted  by  the  Government  of  Britain  over  the  Indian 
territories.  One  of  the  most  frequent  lines  of  attack  was  in 
regard  to  the  treatment  of  the  Indians  by  the  fur  traders.  It 
may  be  readily  conceded  that  the  ideal  of  the  Company's 
officials  was  in  many  cases  not  the  highest.  The  aim  of 
Governor  Simpson  in  his  long  reign  of  forty  years  was  that  of 
a  keen  trader.  A  politic  man,  the  leader  of  the  traders  when 
in  Montreal  conformed  to  the  sentiment  of  the  city,  abroad  in 
the  wilds  he  did  very  little  to  encourage  his  subordinates  to 
cultivate  higher  aims  among  the  natives.  Often  the  missionary 
was  found  raising  questions  very  disturbing  to  the  monopoly, 
and  this  brought  the  Company  officers  into  a  hostile  attitude 
to  him.  Undoubtedly  in  some  cases  the  missionaries  were 
officious  and  unfair  in  their  criticisms. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  men  and  officers  of  the  Company 
were  generally  moral.  Men  of  education  and  reading  the 
officers  usually  were,  and  their  sentiment  was  likely  to  be  in 
the  right  direction.  The  spirit  of  the  monopoly — the  golden 
character  of  silence,  and  the  need  of  being  secretive  and 
uncommunicative — was  instilled  into  every  clerk,  trapper,  and 
trader. 


432  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

But  the  tradition  of  the  Company  was  to  keep  the  Indian  a 
hunter.  There  was  no  effort  to  encourage  the  native  to 
agriculture  or  to  any  industry.  To  make  a  good  collector  of 
fur  was  the  chief  aim.  For  this  the  Indian  required  no 
education,  for  this  the  wandering  habit  needed  to  be  cultivated 
rather  than  discouraged,  and  for  this  it  was  well  to  have  the 
home  ties  as  brittle  as  possible.  Hence  the  tent  and  teepee 
were  favoured  for  the  Indian  hunter  more  than  the  log  cottage 
or  village  house. 

It  was  one  of  the  most  common  charges  against  the  Company 
that  in  order  to  keep  the  Indian  in  subjection  advances  were 
made  on  the  catch  of  furs  of  the  coming  season,  in  order 
that,  being  in  debt,  he  might  be  less  independent.  The 
experience  of  the  writer  in  Red  River  settlement  in  former  days 
leads  him  to  doubt  this,  and  certainly  the  fur  traders  deny  the 
allegation.  The  improvident  or  half-breed  Indian  went  to  the 
Company's  store  to  obtain  all  that  he  could.  The  traders  at  the 
forts  had  difficulty  in  checking  the  extravagance  of  their 
wards.  Frequently  the  storekeeper  refused  to  make  advances 
lest  he  should  fail  in  recovering  the  value  of  the  articles  ad- 
vanced. Fitzgerald,  a  writer  who  took  part  in  the  agitation  of 
1849,  makes  the  assertion  in  the  most  flippant  manner  that  to 
keep  the  Indians  in  debt  was  the  invariable  policy  of  the  Com- 
pany. No  evidence  is  cited  to  support  this  statement,  and  it 
would  seem  to  be  very  hard  to  prove. 

The  same  writer  undertakes,  along  the  line  of  destructive 
criticism,  to  show  that  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  does  not 
deserve  the  credit  given  it  of  discouraging  the  traffic  in  strong 
drink,  and  asserts  that  "  a  beaver  skin  was  never  lost  to  the 
Company  for  want  of  a  pint  of  rum/'  This  is  a  very  grave 
charge,  and  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer  cannot  be  substantiated. 
The  Bishop  of  Montreal,  R.  M.  Ballantyne,  and  the  agents  of 
the  missionary  societies  are  said  either  to  have  little  experience 
or  to  be  unwilling  to  tell  on  this  subject  what  they  knew. 
This  critic  then  quotes  various  statements  of  writers,  extending 
back  in  some  cases  thirty  or  forty  years,  to  show  that  spirituous 
liquors  were  sold  by  the  Company.  It  is  undoubted  that  at 
times  in  the  history  of  the  fur  trade,  especially  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  century,  when  the  three  Companies  were  engaged  in 


BLOOD    INDIANA 

;in<l 


ASSFNIBOINES. 

(Indians  and  Squaws  on  their  ponies.) 

INDIANS    OF    THE    PLAINS. 


[Page  432. 


HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY  AND  INDIANS    433 

a  most  exacting  competition,  as  we  have  fully  shown,  in  several 
cases  much  damage  was  done.  On  the  Pacific  Coast,  too,  eight 
or  ten  years  before  this  critic  wrote,  there  was,  as  we  have 
seen,  excess.  At  other  times,  also,  at  points  in  the  wide  field 
of  operations,  over  half  a  continent,  intoxicating  liquor  was 
plentiful  and  very  injurious,  but  no  feeling  was  stronger  in  a 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  trader's  mind  than  that  he  was  in  a 
country  without  police,  without  military,  without  laws,  and 
that  his  own  and  his  people's  lives  were  in  danger  should 
drunkenness  prevail.  Self-preservation  inclined  every  trader 
to  prevent  the  use  of  spirits  among  the  Indians.  The  writer 
is  of  opinion  that  while  there  may  have  been  many  violations 
of  sobriety,  yet  the  record  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  has 
been  on  the  whole  creditable  in  this  matter. 

The  charges  of  executing  capital  punishment  and  of  neg 
lecting  the  Indians  in  years  of  starvation  may  be  taken 
together.  The  criticism  of  the  people  of  Red  River  was  that 
the  Company  was  weak  in  the  execution  of  the  penalties  of  the 
law.  They  complained  that  the  Company  was  uncertain  of  its 
powers  and  that  the  hand  of  justice  was  chained.  The  marvel 
to  an  unprejudiced  observer  is  that  the  Company  succeeded  in 
ruling  so  vast  a  territory  with  so  few  reprisals  or  executions. 
In  the  matter  of  assisting  the  Indians  in  years  of  scarcity,  it 
was  the  interest  of  the  fur  company  to  save  the  lives  of  its 
trappers  and  workers.  But  those  unacquainted  with  the  vast 
wastes  of  Rupert's  Land  and  the  Far  North  little  know  the 
difficulties  of  at  times  obtaining  food.  The  readers  of  Milton 
and  Cheadle's  graphic  story  or  our  account  of  Robert  Camp- 
bell's adventures  on  the  Stikine,  know  the  hardships  and  the 
near  approach  to  starvation  of  these  travellers.  Dr.  Cheadle, 
on  a  visit  to  Winnipeg  a  few  years  ago,  said  to  the  writer 
that  on  his  first  visit  the  greatest  difficulty  his  party  had 
was  to  secure  supplies.  There  are  years  in  which  game  and 
fish  are  so  scarce  that  in  remote  northern  districts  death  is 
inevitable  for  many.  The  conditions  make  it  impossible  for 
the  Company  to  save  the  lives  of  the  natives.  Relief  for  the 
diseased  and  aged  is  at  times  hard  to  obtain.  Small -pox  and 
other  epidemics  have  the  most  deadly  effect  upon  the  semi- 
civilized  people  of  the  far-off  hunter's  territory. 


434  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

The  charge  made  up  to  1849  that  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany had  done  little  for  the  education  and  religious  training 
of  the  Indians  was  probably  true  enough.  Outside  of  Red 
River  and  British  Columbia  they  did  not  sufficiently  realize 
their  responsibility  as  a  company.  Since  that  time,  with  the 
approval  and  co-operation  in  many  ways  of  the  Company, 
the  various  missionary  societies  have  grappled  with  the 
problem.  The  Indians  about  Hudson  Bay,  on  Lake  Winnipeg, 
in  the  Mackenzie  River,  throughout  British  Columbia,  and  on 
the  great  prairies  of  Assiniboia,  are  to-day  largely  Christianized 
and  receiving  education. 

The  Saulteaux,  or  Indians  who  formerly  lived  at  Sault  Ste. 
Marie,  but  wandered  west  along  the  shore  of  Lake  Superior 
and  even  up  to  Lake  Winnipeg,  are  a  branch  of  the  Algonquin 
Ojibeways.  Hardy  and  persevering,  most  conservative  in 
preserving  old  customs,  hard  to  influence  by  religious  ideas, 
they  have  been  pensioners  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  but 
their  country  is  very  barren,  and  they  have  advanced  but 
little. 

Very  interesting,  among  their  relations  of  Algonquin  origin, 
are  the  Muskegons,  or  Swampy  Crees,  who  have  long  occupied 
the  region  around  Hudson  Bay  and  have  extended  inland  to 
Lake  Winnipeg.  Docile  and  peaceful,  they  have  been  largely 
influenced  by  Christianity.  Under  missionary  and  Company 
guidance  they  have  gathered  around  the  posts,  and  find  a 
living  on  the  game  of  the  country  and  in  trapping  the  wild 
animals. 

Related  to  the  Muskegons  are  the  Wood  Crees,  who  live 
along  the  rivers  and  on  the  belts  of  wood  which  skirt  lakes 
and  hills.  They  cling  to  the  birch-bark  wigwam,  use  the  bark 
canoe,  and  are  nomadic  in  habit.  They  may  be  called  the 
gipsies  of  the  West,  and  being  in  scattered  families  have  been 
little  reached  by  better  influences. 

Another  branch  of  the  Algonquin  stock  is  the  Plain  Crees. 
These  Indians  are  a  most  adventurous  and  energetic  people. 
Leaving  behind  their  canoes  and  Huskie  dogs,  they  obtained 
horses  and  cayuses  and  hied  them  over  the  prairies.  Birch- 
bark  being  unobtainable,  they  made  their  tents,  better  fitted 
for  protecting  them  from  the  searching  winds  of  the  prairies 


HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY  AND  INDIANS    435 

and  the  cold  of  winter,  from  tanned  skins  of  the  buffalo 
and  moose-deer.  For  seven  hundred  miles  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Saskatchewan  they  extend  to  the  foot  hills  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  Meeting  in  their  great  camps,  seemingly 
untameable  as  a  race  of  plain  hunters,  they  were,  up  to  the 
time  of  the  transfer  to  Canada,  almost  untouched  by  missionary 
influence,  but  in  the  last  thirty  years  they  have  been  placed  on 
reserves  by  the  Canadian  Government  and  are  in  almost  all 
cases  yielding  to  Christianizing  agencies. 

North  of  the  country  of  the  Crees  live  tribes  with  very  wide 
connections.  They  call  themselves  "Tinne"  or  "People," 
but  to  others  they  are  known  as  Chipewyans,  or  Athabascans. 
They  seem  to  be  less  copper-coloured  than  the  other  Indians, 
and  are  docile  in  disposition.  This  nation  stretches  from  Fort 
Churchill,  on  Hudson  Bay,  along  the  English  River,  up  to 
Lake  Athabasca,  along  the  Peace  River  into  the  very  heart  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  even  beyond  to  the  coast.  They 
have  proved  teachable  and  yield  to  ameliorating  influences. 

Probably  the  oldest  and  best  known  name  of  the  interior  of 
Rupert's  Land,  the  name  after  which  Lord  Selkirk  called  his 
Colony  of  Assiniboia,  is  that  belonging  to  the  Wild  Assiniboines 
or  Stony  River  Sioux.  The  river  at  the  mouth  of  which 
stands  the  city  of  Winnipeg  was  their  northern  boundary,  and 
they  extended  southward  toward  the  great  Indian  confederacy 
of  the  Sioux  natives  or  Dakotas,  of  which  indeed  they  were  at 
one  time  a  branch.  Tall,  handsome,  with  firmly  formed  faces, 
agile  and  revengeful,  they  are  an  intelligent  and  capable  race. 
These  Indians,  known  familiarly  as  the  "  Stonies,"  have  greatly 
diminished  in  numbers  since  the  time  of  Alexander  Henry,  Jun., 
who  describes  them  fully.  In  later  years  they  have  been  cut 
down  with  pulmonary  and  other  diseases,  and  are  to-day  but 
the  fragment  of  a  great  tribe.  They  have  long  been  friendly 
with  the  Plain  Crees,  but  are  not  very  open  to  Christianity, 
though  there  are  one  or  two  small  communities  which  are 
exceptions  in  this  respect. 

Very  little  under  Hudson's  Bay  Company  control  were  the 
Blackfoot  nation,  along  the  foot  hills  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
near  the  national  boundary.  Ethnically  they  are  related  to 
the  Crees,  but  they  have  always  been  difficult  to  approach. 


436  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Living  in  large  camps  during  Hudson's  Bay  Company  days, 
they  spent  a  wild,  happy,  comfortable  life  among  the  herds  of 
wandering  buffalo  of  their  district.  Since  the  beginning  of  the 
Canadian  regime  they  have  become  more  susceptible  to  civiliz- 
ing agencies,  and  live  in  great  reserves  in  the  south-west  of 
their  old  hunting  grounds. 

A  perfect  chaos  of  races  meets  us  among  the  Indians  of 
British  Columbia  and  Alaska,  and  their  language  is  polyglot. 
Seemingly  the  result  of  innumerable  immigrations  from 
Malayan  and  Mongolian  sources  in  Asia,  they  have  come 
at  different  times.  One  of  the  best  known  tribes  of  the  coast  is 
the  Haidas,  numbering  some  six  thousand  souls.  The  Nutka 
Indians  occupy  Vancouver  Island,  and  have  many  tribal 
divisions.  To  the  Selish  or  Flatheads  belong  many  of  the 
tribes  of  the  Lower  Eraser  River,  while  the  Shushwaps  hold  the 
country  on  the  Columbia  and  Okanagan  Rivers.  Mention  has 
been  made  already  of  the  small  but  influential  tribe  of  Chinooks 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River. 

While  differing  in  many  ways  from  each  other,  the  Indians 
of  the  Pacific  Coast  have  always  been  turbulent  and  excitable. 
From  first  to  last  more  murders  and  riots  have  taken  place 
among  them  than  throughout  all  the  vast  territory  held  by  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  While 
missionary  zeal  has  accomplished  much  among  the  Western 
Coast  Indians,  yet  the  "bad  Indian"  element  has  been  a 
recognized  and  appreciable  quantity  among  them  so  far  as  the 
Company  is  concerned. 

Last  among  the  natives  who  have  been  under  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  influence  are  the  Eskimos  or  Innuits  of  the  Far 
North.  They  are  found  on  the  Labrador  Coast,  on  Copper- 
mine River,  on  the  shore  of  the  Arctic  Sea,  and  on  the  Alaskan 
peninsula.  Dressed  in  sealskin  clothing  and  dwelling  in  huts 
of  snow,  hastening  from  place  to  place  in  their  sledges  drawn 
by  wolf -like  dogs  called  "  Eskies  "  or  "  Huskies,"  these  people 
have  found  themselves  comparatively  independent  of  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  assistance.  Living  largely  on  the  products  of 
the  sea,  they  have  shown  great  ingenuity  in  manufacturing 
articles  and  implements  for  themselves.  The  usual  experience 
of  the  Company  from  Ungava,  through  the  Mackenzie  River 


HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY  AND  INDIANS    437 

posts,  and  the  trading  houses  in  Alaska  has  been  that  they  were 
starved  out  and  were  compelled  to  give  up  their  trading  houses 
among  them.  Little  has  been  done,  unless  in  the  Yukon 
country,  to  evangelize  the  Eskimos. 

The  marvel  to  the  historian,  as  he  surveys  the  two  centuries 
and  a  quarter  of  the  history  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  is 
their  successful  management  of  the  Indian  tribes.  There  has 
never  been  an  Indian  war  in  Rupert's  Land  or  the  Indian 
territories — nothing  beyond  a  temporary  emeute  or  incidental 
outbreak.  Thousands  of  miles  from  the  nearest  British  garri- 
son or  soldier,  trade  has  been  carried  on  in  scores  and  scores  of 
forts  and  factories  with  perfect  confidence.  The  Indians  have 
always  respected  the  "  Kingchauch  man."  He  was  to  them 
the  representative  of  superior  ability  and  financial  strength, 
but  more  than  this,  he  was  the  embodiment  of  civilization  and 
of  fair  and  just  dealing.  High  prices  may  have  been  imposed 
on  the  Indians,  but  the  Company's  expenses  were  enormous. 
There  are  points  among  the  most  remote  trading  posts  from 
which  the  returns  in  money  were  not  possible  in  less  than 
nine  years  from  the  time  the  goods  left  the  Fenchurch  Street 
or  Lime  Street  warehouses.  With  all  his  keen  bargaining  and 
his  so-called  exacting  motto,  "  Pro  pelle  cutem,"  the  trader 
was  looked  upon  by  the  Indians  as  a  benefactor,  bringing  into 
his  barren,  remote,  inhospitable  home  the  commodities  to 
supply  his  wants  and  make  his  life  happier.  While  the  Indians 
came  to  recognize  this  in  their  docile  and  pliable  acceptance 
of  the  trader's  decisions,  the  trader  also  became  fond  of  the 
Red  man,  and  many  an  old  fur  trader  freely  declares  his 
affection  for  his  Indian  ward,  so  faithful  to  his  promise,  un- 
swerving in  his  attachment,  and  celebrated  for  never  forgetting 
a  kindness  shown  him. 

The  success  of  the  Company  was  largely  due  to  honourable, 
capable,  and  patient  officers,  clerks,  and  employes,  who  with 
tact  and  justice  managed  their  Indian  dependents,  many  of 
whom  rejoiced  in  the  title  of  "  A  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
Indian." 


CHAPTER   XLIII. 

UNEEST  IN  RUPERT'S  LAND  (1844 — 69). 

Discontent  on  Red  River — Queries  to  the  Governor — A  courageous 
Recorder — Free  trade  in  furs  held  illegal — Imprisonment — New 
land  deed — Enormous  freights — Petty  revenge — Turbulent  pen- 
sioners— Heart-burnings — Heroic  Isbister — Half-breed  memorial 
— Mr.  Beaver's  letter — Hudson's  Bay  Company  notified — Lord 
Elgin's  reply — Voluminous  correspondence — Company's  full  an- 
swer— Colonel  Crofton's  statement — Major  Caldwell,  a  partisan 
— French  petition — Nearly  a  thousand  signatures — Love,  a  factor 
— The  elder  Riel — A  court  scene — Violence — "  Vive  la  liberte"  '*- 
The  Recorder  checked — A  new  judge — Unruly  Corbett — The 
prison  broken — Another  rescue — A  valiant  doctor — A  Red  River 
Nestor. 

THE  fuller  organization  of  Assiniboia,  after  its  purchase  by  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  from  the  heirs  of  the  Earl  of  Selkirk, 
encouraged  the  authorities  at  Red  River  to  assert  the  rights 
which  the  Company  had  always  claimed — viz.  the  monopoly 
of  the  fur  trade  in  Rupert's  Land  and  the  imposition  of  heavy 
freights  on  imports  and  exports  by  way  of  Hudson  Bay.  The 
privilege  of  exporting  tallow,  the  product  of  the  buffalo,  had 
been  accorded  on  reasonable  terms  to  a  prominent  resident  of 
the  Red  River,  named  James  Sinclair.  The  first  venture,  a 
small  one,  succeeded  ;  but  a  second  larger  consignment  was 
refused  by  the  Company,  and,  after  lying  nearly  two  years  at 
York  Factory,  the  cargo  was  sold  to  the  Company. 

Twenty  leading  half-breeds  then  petitioned  the  Company  to 
be  allowed  to  export  their  tallow  and  to  be  given  a  reasonable 
freight  charge.  No  answer  was  returned  to  this  letter.  The 
half-breeds  were  thus  rising  in  intelligence  and  means  ;  being 
frequently  employed  as  middlemen  in  trafficking  in  furs,  they 
learned  something  of  the  trade  and  traffic.  The  half-breed 
settlers  of  the  Red  River  settlement  have  always  claimed 

438 


UNREST   IN   RUPERTS   LAND  439 

special  privileges  in  Rupert's  Land  as  being  descended  from 
the  aboriginal  owners.  It  was  under  such  circumstances  that 
Governor  Christie,  following,  it  is  supposed,  legal  direction, 
in  1844  issued  two  proclamations,  the  first,  requiring  that  each 
settler,  before  the  Company  would  carry  any  goods  for  him, 
should  be  required  to  declare  that  he  had  not  been  engaged  in 
the  fur  trade  ;  the  second,  that  the  writer  of  every  letter  write 
his  name  on  the  outside  of  it,  in  order  that,  should  he  be  sus- 
pected of  dealing  in  furs,  it  might  be  opened  and  examined. 

This  was  a  direct  issue,  and  they  determined  to  bring  the 
matter  to  a  crisis.  Twenty  leading  natives  (half-breeds  of  Red 
River  settlement),  among  them  a  number  well  known,  such 
as  James  Sinclair,  John  Dease,  John  Vincent,  William  Bird, 
and  Peter  Garrioch,  in  1845  approached  Alexander  Christie, 
Governor  of  the  settlement,  requesting  answers  to  fourteen 
queries.  These  questions  required  satisfaction  as  to  whether 
half-breeds  could  hunt,  buy,  sell,  or  traffic  in  furs,  and  also 
what  were  the  restrictions  in  this  matter  upon  Europeans,  &c. 
A  pacific  and  soothing  reply  was  made  by  Governor  Christie, 
but  the  Company  soon  began  to  take  steps  to  repress  the  free 
trade  in  furs,  and  the  Council  of  Rupert's  Land  passed  certain 
regulations,  among  others  one  placing  a  duty  of  twenty  per 
cent,  upon  imports,  but  exempting  from  their  tax  settlers  who 
were  free  of  the  charge  of  trading  in  furs.  This  was  a  vexatious 
regulation  and  roused  great  opposition. 

All  these  devices  had  a  legal  smack  about  them,  and  were  no 
doubt  the  suggestions  of  Judge  Thorn,  the  Recorder  of  Red 
River,  a  remarkable  man,  who,  six  years  before  this  time,  had 
come  from  Montreal  to  put  legal  matters  in  order  in  the  Red 
River  settlement.  The  Recorder  entered  con  amore  into 
the  matter,  and  advised  the  assertion  of  claims  that  had  fallen 
into  disuse  for  many  years  among  the  different  classes  of  resi- 
dents in  the  settlement.  The  redoubtable  judge,  who,  it  will 
be  remembered,  was  said  to  have  been  at  the  elbow  of  Sir 
George  Simpson  in  writing  his  "  Journey  Round  the  World," 
now  evolved  another  tyrannical  expedient. 

A  new  land  deed  was  devised,  and  whosoever  wished  to  hold 
land  in  the  settlement  was  compelled  to  sign  it.  This  inden- 
ture provided  that  if  the  land -holder  should  invade  any 


440  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

privileges  of  the  Company  and  fail  to  contribute  to  the  main- 
tenance of  clergy  and  schools,  or  omit  to  do  his  work  upon  the 
public  roads,  or  carry  on  trade  in  skins,  furs,  peltry,  or  dressed 
leather,  such  offender  should  forfeit  his  lands. 

This  was  certainly  un-British  and  severe,  and  we  may  look 
upon  it  as  the  plan  of  the  judge,  who  failed  to  understand 
the  spirit  of  his  age,  and  would  have  readily  fallen  in  with  a 
system  of  feudal  tenure.  The  writer  in  after  years  met  this 
judge,  then  very  old,  in  London,  and  found  him  a  kindly  man, 
though  with  Scottish  determination,  willing  to  follow  out  his 
opinions  logically,  however  rash  or  out  of  place  such  a  course 
might  be.  If  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  found  itself  in  a  sea 
of  trouble,  and  hostile  to  public  sentiment  in  the  settlement,  it 
had  to  blame  its  own  creation,  the  valorous  Recorder  of  Red 
River. 

The  imposition  of  enormous  freights,  adopted  at  this  time  for 
carrying  goods  by  way  of  York  Factory  to  England,  in  order  to 
check  trade,  was  a  part  of  the  same  policy  of  ' '  Thorough  " 
recommended  by  this  legal  adviser.  Sinclair,  already  men- 
tioned, became  the  "  Village  Hampden  "  in  this  crisis.  Taking 
an  active  part  in  his  opposition  to  this  policy  of  restriction,  he 
found  that  he  was  to  be  punished,  by  the  "  Company's  Ship  " 
from  England  to  York  Factory  refusing  to  carry  for  him  any 
freight.  It  was  partly  the  Oregon  question  and  partly  the  un- 
settled state  of  public  opinion  in  Red  River  that  led  to  a 
British  regiment  being  for  a  time  stationed  at  the  Red  River 
settlement.  On  the  removal  of  these  troops  the  pensioners,  a 
turbulent  band  of  old  discharged  soldiers,  came  from  Britain 
and  were  settled  upon  the  Assiniboine,  above  Fort  Garry.  A 
writer  who  knew  them  well  ventures  to  suggest  that  they  were 
of  the  same  troublesome  disposition  as  the  former  De  Meurons 
of  Lord  Selkirk.  Coming  ostensibly  to  introduce  peace  they 
brought  a  sword.  Sooner  or  later  the  discontent  and  irritation 
produced  by  Judge  Thorn's  inspiration  was  sure  to  reach  its 
culmination,  and  this  it  did  in  the  Sayer  affair  afterwards 
described. 

The  cause  of  the  complaints  from  the  Red  River  settlement 
found  a  willing  and  powerful  advocate  in  Mr.  Alexander  K. 
Isbister,  a  young  London  barrister,  and  afterwards  a  prominent 


UNREST   IN   RUPERTS   LAND  441 

educationalist.  He  was  a  native  of  Rupert's  Land,  and  had  a 
dash  of  Indian  blood  in  his  veins,  and  so  took  up  the  brief  for 
his  compatriots  in  a  formidable  series  of  documents.  Mr. 
Isbister's  advocacy  gave  standing  and  weight  to  the  contention 
of  the  Red  River  half-breeds,  and  a  brave  and  heroic  fight  was 
made,  even  though  the  point  of  view  was  at  times  quite  unjust 
to  the  Company. 

In  1847,  Isbister,  with  five  other  half-breeds  of  Red  River, 
forwarded,  to  the  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies,  a  long  and 
able  memorial,  setting  forth  the  grievances  of  the  petitioners. 
The  document  sets  forth  in  short  that  the  Company  had 
"  amassed  a  princely  revenue  "  at  the  expense  of  the  natives, 
allowed  their  wards  to  pass  their  lives  in  the  darkest 
heathenism,  broke  their  pledges  to  exclude  strong  drink  from 
the  Indian  trade,  were  careless  of  the  growing  evil  of  want 
and  suffering  in  the  territory,  paid  little  for  the  furs,  and 
persecuted  the  natives  by  checking  them  in  their  barter  of  furs, 
and  followed  a  short-sighted  and  pernicious  policy. 

This  was  assuredly  a  serious  list  of  charges.  Earl  Grey  in 
due  time  called  on  Isbister  and  Ms  friends  for  a  more  specific 
statement  of  the  grievances,  and  wrote  to  the  Governor  of 
Assiniboia,  to  the  London  Governor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  and  to  the  Governor-General  of  Canada,  Lord  Elgin, 
asking  their  attention  to  the  allegations  of  the  petition. 

Some  two  months  after  Lord  Grey's  letter  was  received,  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  Governor,  Sir  J.  H.  Pelly,  submitted 
a  long  and  minute  answer  to  the  various  charges  of  the 
petitioners.  As  is  usually  the  case,  both  parties  had  some 
advantages.  As  to  the  enormous  profits,  the  Company  were 
able  to  show  that  they  had  unfortunately  not  been  able  to  make 
"  more  than  the  ordinary  rate  of  mercantile  profit."  They 
replied  as  to  the  religious  interests  of  the  natives,  that  their 
sole  objects,  as  stated  in  the  Charter,  were  trade  and  the 
discovery  of  a  North-West  Passage,  but  that  they  had  helped 
at  a  considerable  annual  expense  the  Church  Missionary 
Society,  Wesleyan  Missionary  Society,  and  a  Roman  Catholic 
Missionary  Society.  The  Company  gives  a  most  indignant 
denial  to  the  charge  that  they  had  resumed  the  trade  in 
spirituous  liquors  with  the  Indians,  though  admitting  in  the 


442  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

neighbourhood  of  Red  River  the  use  of  small  quantities  of 
strong  drink  in  meeting  the  American  traders. 

This  answer  did  not,  however,  quiet  the  storm.  Isbister 
returned  to  the  attack,  giving  the  evidence  of  Mr.  Alexander 
Simpson,  a  trader  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  the  extensive  and 
strong  letter  of  the  Rev.  Herbert  Beaver,  the  former  chaplain 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  at  Fort  Vancouver.  Isbister 
also  raised  the  question  of  the  validity  of  the  Company's 
Charter.  The  Company  again  replied,  and  so  the  battle  raged, 
reply  and  rejoinder,  quotations  and  evidence  ad  libitum. 
Isbister  may  not  have  proved  his  case,  but  his  championship 
won  the  approbation  of  many  independent  observers. 

Lord  Elgin,  the  efficient  and  popular  Governor -General  of 
Canada,  gave  such  reply  as  he  was  able.  He  states  that  the 
distance  of  Red  River  was  so  great  and  the  intercourse  so  little, 
that  taking  into  account  the  peculiar  jurisdiction  of  the  Com- 
pany, he  found  it  difficult  to  obtain  the  information  sought. 
As  to  the  complaints  about  the  religious  neglect  of  the  Indians, 
Lord  Elgin  states  that  disappointments  in  this  matter  occur  in 
other  quarters  as  well  as  in  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  terri- 
tories, but  declares  that  the  result  of  his  inquiries  in  the  matter 
'*  is  highly  favourable  to  the  Company,  and  that  it  has  left  in 
his  mind  the  impression  that  the  authority  which  they  exercise 
over  the  vast  and  inhospitable  region  subject  to  their  jurisdic- 
tion is  on  the  whole  very  advantageous  to  the  Indians." 

Lord  Elgin  states  that  he  is  much  indebted  for  his  informa- 
tion to  Colonel  Crofton,  the  commander  of  the  6th  Royal 
Regiment,  which  we  have  seen  was  stationed  for  a  time 
at  Red  River.  Colonel  Crofton  afterwards  gave  to  the 
Colonial  Secretary  what  one  would  say  was  rather  an  un- 
judicial reply.  He  said,  "  I  unhesitatingly  assert  that  the 
government  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  is  mild  and  pro- 
tective, and  admirably  adapted,  in  my  opinion,  for  the  state 
of  society  existing  in  Rupert's  Land,  where  Indians,  half- 
breeds,  or  Europeans  are  happily  governed,  and  live  protected 
by  laws  which  I  know  were  mercifully  and  impartially 
administered  by  Mr.  Thorn,  the  Recorder,  and  by  the  magis- 
trates of  the  land."  In  regard  to  this  opinion,  while  no  doubt 
an  honest  expression  of  views,  it  is  plain  that  Colonel  Crofton 


444  THE   HUDSON'S  BAY   COMPANY 

young  lady  is  said  to  have  preferred  the  Metis,  but  the  stern 
parent  favoured  the  Highlander.  The  Scotchman,  fortified  by 
the  father's  approval,  proceeded  to  upbraid  the  Metis  for  his 
temerity  in  aspiring  to  the  hand  of  one  so  high  in  society  as 
the  lady.  As  love  ruined  Troy,  so  it  is  said  this  affair  joined 
French  and  English  half-breeds  in  a  union  to  defeat  the 
Company. 

The  agitation  went  on,  as  Isbister  and  his  friends  corre- 
sponded with  the  people  of  Red  River  and  succeeded  so  well 
in  gaining  the  ear  of  the  British  Government.  Among  the 
French  people  one  of  the  fiercest  and  most  noisy  leaders  was 
Louis  Riel,  the  revolutionary ' '  miller  of  the  Seine/'  This  man, 
the  father  of  the  rebel  chief  of  later  years,  was  a  French  half- 
breed.  A  tribune  of  the  people,  he  had  a  strong  ascendency 
over  the  ignorant  half -breeds.  He  was  ready  for  any  emergency. 

It  is  often  the  case  that  some  trifling  incident  serves  to 
bring  on  a  serious  crisis  in  affairs.  A  French  settler,  named 
Guillaume  Sayer,  half-breed  son  of  an  old  bourgeois  in  the 
North-West  Company,  had  bought  a  quantity  of  goods,  intend- 
ing to  go  on  a  trading  expedition  to  Lake  Manitoba.  The 
Company  proceeded  to  arrest  him,  and,  after  a  stiff  resistance, 
he  was  overcome  by  force  and  imprisoned  at  Fort  Garry. 

As  the  day  of  trial  drew  near  the  excitement  grew  intense. 
Governor  Caldwell  was  a  well-known  martinet ;  the  Recorder 
was  regarded  as  the  originator  of  the  policy  of  restriction.  He 
was,  moreover,  believed  to  be  a  Francophobe,  having  written 
a  famous  series  of  newspaper  communications  in  Montreal, 
known  as  the  "  Antigallic  Letters."  The  day  of  trial  had  been 
fixed  for  Ascension  Day,  May  17th,  and  this  was  taken  as  a 
religious  affront  by  the  French.  The  Court  was  to  meet  in  the 
morning. 

On  the  day  of  the  trial  hundreds  of  French  Metis,  armed, 
came  from  all  the  settlements  to  St.  Boniface  Church,  and, 
leaving  their  guns  at  the  church  door,  entered  for  service.  At 
the  close  they  gathered  together,  and  were  addressed  in  a  fiery 
oration  by  Riel.  A  French  Canadian  admirer,  writing  of  the 
matter,  says, ' '  Louis  Riel  obtained  a  veritable  triumph  on  that 
occasion,  and  long  and  loud  the  hurrahs  were  repeated  by  the 
echoes  of  the  Red  River." 


UNREST   IN   RUPERTS   LAND  445 

Crossing  by  way  of  Point  Douglas,  the  Metis  surrounded  the 
unguarded  Court  House  at  Fort  Garry.  The  governor,  judge, 
and  magistrate  arrived,  and  took  their  seats  at  eleven  o'clock. 
A  curious  scene  now  ensued  :  the  magistrates  protested  against 
the  violence  ;  Kiel  in  loud  tones  declared  that  they  would 
give  the  tribunal  one  hour,  and  that  if  justice  were  not  done 
them,  they  would  do  it  themselves.  An  altercation  then 
took  place  between  Judge  Thorn  and  Kiel,  and  with  his  loud 
declaration,  "  Et  Je  declare  que  de  ce  moment  Sayer  est 

libre "  drowned  by  the  shouts  of  the  Metis,  the  trial  was 

over.  Sayer  and  his  fellow -prisoners  betook  themselves  to 
freedom,  while  the  departing  Metis  cried  out,  "  Le  commerce 
est  libre !  le  commerce  est  libre  !  Viva  la  liberte  !  "  Tliis 
crisis  was  a  serious  one.  Judge  Thorn,  so  instructed  by 
Governor  Simpson,  never  acted  as  Recorder  again.  The  five 
years'  struggle  was  over. 

The  movement  for  liberty  continued  to  stimulate  the  people. 
Five  years  afterward  the  plan  of  the  agitators  was  to  obtain 
the  intervention  of  Canada.  Accordingly  a  petition,  signed  by 
Roderick  Kennedy  and  five  hundred  and  seventy-four  others, 
was  presented  to  the  Legislative  Assembly  of  Canada.  The 
grievances  of  the  people  of  Red  River  were  recited.  It  was 
stated  that  application  had  been  made  to  the  Imperial  Parlia- 
ment without  result,  and  this  through  "  the  chicanery  of  the 
Company  and  its  false  representations."  In  1857  the  Toronto 
Board  of  Trade  petitioned  the  Canadian  Assembly  to  open  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  territories  to  trade.  Restlessness  and 
uncertainty  largely  prevailed  in  Red  River,  though  there  were 
many  of  the  colonists  who  paid  little  attention  to  what  they 
considered  the  infatuated  conduct  of  the  agitators. 

No  truer  test  of  the  success  of  government  can  be  found 
than  the  respect  and  obedience  shown  by  the  people  for  the 
law.  Red  River  settlement,  judged  by  this  standard,  had  a 
woful  record  at  this  time.  After  the  unfortunate  Sayer  affair, 
Recorder  Thorn  was  superseded,  and  for  a  time  (1855  to  1858) 
Judge  Johnson,  of  Montreal,  came  to  Fort  Garry  to  administer 
justice  and  to  act  as  Governor. 

Judge  Black,  a  capable  trader  who  had  received  a  legal 
training,  was  appointed  to  the  office  of  Recorder,  but  soon 


446  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY  COMPANY 

found  a  case  that  tried  his  judicial  ability  and  skill.  A  clergy- 
man named  Corbett,  who  had  been  bitterly  hostile  to  the 
Company,  testified  to  certain  extreme  statements  against  the 
Company  in  the  great  investigation  of  1857.  He  then  returned 
to  his  parish  of  Headingly  in  the  settlement.  A  criminal 
charge  was  brought  against  him,  for  which  he  was  found  guilty 
in  the  courts  and  sentenced  to  six  months'  imprisonment.  The 
opponents  of  the  Company,  seemingly  without  ground,  but 
none  the  less  fiercely,  declared  that  the  trial  was  a  persecution 
by  the  Company  and  that  Corbett  was  innocent.  Strong  in  this 
belief,  the  mob  surrounded  the  prison  at  Fort  Garry,  overawed 
the  old  French  jailor,  and,  rescuing  Corbett,  took  him  home  to 
his  parish. 

Among  those  who  had  been  prominent  in  the  rescue  was 
James  Stewart,  long  afterward  a  druggist  and  meteorological 
observer  in  Winnipeg.  Stewart  and  some  of  his  companions 
were  arrested  for  jail-breaking  and  cast  into  prison.  Some 
forty  or  fifty  friends  of  Stewart  threatened  violence  should  he 
be  kept  a  prisoner.  The  Governor,  bishop,  and  three  magis- 
trates met  to  overawe  the  insurgents,  but  the  determined 
rescuers  tore  up  the  pickets  enclosing  the  prison  yard,  broke 
open  the  Jail,  and  made  the  prisoner  a  free  man. 

Such  insubordination  and  tumult  marked  the  decline  of  the 
Company's  power  as  a  governing  body.  This  lawlessness  was 
no  doubt  stimulated  by  the  establishment  of  a  newspaper  in 
1859 — The  Nor' -Wester — which  from  the  first  was  hostile  to 
the  Company.  The  system  of  government  by  the  Council  of 
Assiniboia  had  always  been  a  vulnerable  point  in  the  manage- 
ment by  the  Company,  and  the  newspaper  constantly  fanned 
the  spirit  of  discontent.  In  the  year  1868,  when  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company  regime  was  approaching  its  end,  another  violent 
and  disturbing  affair  took  place.  This  was  the  arrest  of  Dr. 
Schultz,  a  Canadian  leader  of  great  bodily  strength  and 
determination,  who  had  thrown  in  his  lot  with  the  Red  River 
people.  As  a  result  of  a  business  dispute,  Schultz  was 
proceeded  against  in  the  Court,  and  an  order  issued  for  seizure 
of  his  goods.  On  his  resisting  the  sheriff  in  the  execution  of 
his  duty,  he  was,  after  a  severe  struggle,  overpowered,  taken 
captive,  and  confined  in  Fort  Garry  jail. 


UNREST  IN  RUPERTS  LAND  447 

On  the  following  day  the  wife  of  Dr.  Schultz  and  some 
fifteen  men  forcibly  entered  the  prison,  overpowered  the 
guards,  and,  breaking  open  his  cell,  rescued  the  redoubtable 
doctor.  Hargrave  says,  "  This  done,  the  party  adjourned 
along  with  him  to  his  house,  whore  report  says,  '  They  made 
a  night  of  it/  " 

These  events  represented  the  decadence  of  the  Company's 
rule  ;  they  indicated  the  rise  of  new  forces  that  were  to  compel 
a  change  ;  and  however  harmful  to  those  immediately  involved 
they  declared  unmistakably  that  the  old  order  changeth, 
giving  place  to  new. 

Typical  of  his  times,  there  sat  through  the  court  scenes  of 
these  troublous  days  the  old  "  clerk  of  court  and  council/' 
William  Robert  Smith.  With  long  grey  beard  he  held  his 
post,  and  was  the  genius  of  the  place.  He  was  the  Nestor 
of  Red  River.  A  Bluecoat  boy  from  London,  he  had  come 
from  school  far  back  in  1813,  to  enter  on  the  fur  trade  in 
Rupert's  Land.  At  Oxford  House,  He  a  la  Crosse,  Little 
Slave  Lake,  and  Norway  House,  he  served  eleven  faithful 
years  as  a  clerk,  when  he  retired  and  became  a  settler  of 
Red  River.  He  was  the  first  to  settle  near  Lower  Fort  Garry, 
and  named  the  spot  "  Little  Britain,"  from  one  of  his  old 
London  localities.  Farming,  teaching,  catechizing  for  the 
church,  acting  precentor,  a  local  encyclopaedia,  and  collector 
of  Customs,  he  passed  his  versatile  life,  till,  the  year  before  the 
Sayer  emeute,  he  became  Clerk  of  Court,  which  place,  with 
slight  interruption,  he  held  for  twenty  years.  How  remarkable 
to  think  of  the  man  of  all  work,  the  Company's  factotum, 
reaching  in  his  experience  from  the  beginning  to  well-nigh 
the  ending  of  the  Selkirk  settlement !  One  who  knew  him 
says,  "  From  his  long  residence  in  the  settlement  he  has  seen 
governors,  judges,  bishops,  and  clergymen,  not  to  mention 
such  birds  of  passage  as  the  Company's  local  officers,  who 
come  and  go,  himself  remaining  to  record  their  doings  to 
their  successors." 


CHAPTER    XLIV. 

CANADA   COVETS   THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   TERRITORY. 

Renewal  of  licence — Labouchere's  letter — Canada  claims  to  Pacific 
Ocean — Commissioner  Chief-Justice  Draper — Rests  on  Quebec 
Act,  1774 — Quebec  overlaps  Indian  territories — Company  loses 
Vancouver  Island — Cauchon's  memorandum — Committee  of  1857 
— Company  on  trial — A  brilliant  committee — Four  hundred 
folios  of  evidence — To  transfer  Red  River  and  Saskatchewan — 
Death  of  Sir  George — Governor  Dallas — A  cunning  scheme — 
Secret  negotiations — The  Watkin  Company  floated — Angry  win- 
terers— Dallas's  soothing  circular — The  old  order  still — Ermatin- 
ger's  letters — McDougall's  resolutions — Cartier  and  McDougall 
as  delegates — Company  accepts  the  terms. 

As  is  well  known  to  those  who  have  followed  the  history  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  while  the  possession  of  Rupert's  Land 
was  secured  by  charter,  the  territory  outside  Rupert's  Land 
was  secured  to  the  Company  by  licence.  This  licence  ended 
every  twenty-one  years.  The  licence  in  force  at  the  time  of  the 
troubles  which  have  been  described  was  to  terminate  in  1859. 
Accordingly,  three  or  four  years  before  this  date,  as  their 
Athabasca,  New  Caledonia,  and  British  Columbia  possessions 
had  become  of  great  value  to  them,  the  Company  with  due  fore- 
sight approached  the  British  Government  with  a  request  for 
the  renewal  of  their  tenure.  Men  of  understanding  on  both 
sides  of  the  Atlantic  saw  the  possible  danger  of  a  refusal  to  their 
request,  on  account  of  the  popular  ferment  which  had  taken 
place  both  in  Red  River  and  British  Columbia.  Others  thought 
the  time  had  come  for  ending  the  power  of  the  Company. 

Sir  Henry  Labouchere,  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies, 
entered  into  correspondence  with  Sir  Edmund  Head,  Governor- 
General  of  Canada,  on  the  subject.  Anxious  about  the  state 
of  things  in  every  part  of  the  Empire  as  the  Colonial  Office 
always  is,  the  turbulence  and  defiance  of  law  in  Red  River 


CANADA  COVETS  HUDSON'S  BAY  TERRITORY    449 

settlement  called  for  special  attention.  Accordingly  the 
Governor-General  was  informed  that  it  was  the  intention  of 
the  Home  Government  to  have,  not  only  the  question  of  the 
licence  discussed,  but  also  the  "  general  position  and 
prospects  "  of  the  Company  considered,  by  a  Committee  of 
the  House  of  Commons.  The  Canadian  Government  was 
therefore  cordially  invited  to  have  its  views,  as  well  as  those  of 
the  Canadian  community,  represented  before  the  Committee. 

This  invitation  was  the  thing  for  which  Canada  had  been 
waiting.  A  despatch  was  sent  by  the  Canadian  Government, 
in  less  than  seven  weeks  from  the  time  when  th«?  invitation  left 
Downing  Street,  accepting  the  proposal  of  the  Mother  Country. 
The  Canadian  Ministry  was  pleased  that  British -American 
affairs  were  receiving  such  prominent  notice  in  England.  It 
suggested  the  importance  of  determining  the  limits  of  Canada 
on  the  side  tow; ml-  KnjM-rt's  Land,  and  i  to  state  that 

the  general  opinion  strongly  held   in  R    World  was 

11  that  the  western  boundary  of  Canada  extend-  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean/'  Reference  is  made  to  the  danger  of  complications 
arising  with  the  United  States,  and  the  statement  advanced 
that  the  *'  question  of  the  jurisdiction  and  title  claimed  by 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  is  to  Canada  of  paramount 
importance." 

hi  1857  Chief  Justice  Draper  crossed  to  Great  Britai 
Canadian  representative,  with  a  very  wide  commission  to 
advance  Canadian  interests.  He  was  called  before  the  Com- 
mittee appointed  by  the  House  of  Commons,  and  answered 
nearly  two  hundred  questions  relating  to  Canada  and  to  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  interests  in  Rupert's  Land  and 
beyond.  The  capable  and  active- minded  Chief  Justice  kept 
before  the  Committee  these  points  : — 

(1)  What  he  conceived  to  be  the  true  western  boundary  of 
Canada,  and  in  so  doing  gave  his  opinion,  based  on  the  Quebec 
Act  of  1774,  that  Canada  should  be  allowed  to  extend  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains  and  should  have  the  privilege  of  exploring 
and  building  roads  in  that  region. 

(2)  The  earnest  desire  of  the  Canadian  people  that  Rupert's 
Land  and  the  Indian  territories  should  be  maintained  as  British 
territory. 


450  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

(3)  That  Canada  should  be  allowed  to  extend  her  settlements 
into  these  territories. 

Chief  Justice  Draper  argued  his  case  with  great  clearness 
and  cogency,  and  made  an  excellent  impression  upon  the 
Committee. 

The  matter  of  the  Company's  hold  on  Vancouver  Island 
seems  to  have  been  settled  without  any  great  difficulty.  Mr. 
Richard  Blanshard,  the  former  Governor,  who  received  so  cool 
a  reception  in  Vancouver  Island,  gave  a  plain  and  unvarnished 
tale.  The  Company  had  evidently  made  up  its  mind  to  sur- 
render all  its  claims  to  Vancouver  Island.  And  the  island,  as 
we  have  seen,  became  independent. 

Canada  entered  with  great  spirit  into  the  case  presented 
before  the  Committee.  The  question  of  the  licence  was  quite 
overshadowed  by  the  wider  discussion  covering  the  validity  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  charter,  the  original  boundary  line 
of  the  province  of  Canada,  and  the  manner  in  which  the  Com- 
pany had  carried  out  its  responsibilities.  An  industrious 
minister  of  the  Canadian  Government,  Hon.  Joseph  Cauchon, 
with  true  Gallic  fire  and  a  French  Canadian  spirit,  prepared 
a  memorandum  of  a  most  elaborate  kind  on  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company's  claim  and  status.  In  this,  Mr.  Cauchon  goes  back 
to  the  earliest  times,  shows  the  limits  of  occupation  by  the 
French  explorers,  follows  down  the  line  of  connection  estab- 
lished by  the  North-West  traders,  deals  with  the  troubles  of 
Lord  Selkirk,  and  concludes  that  the  Red  River  and  the 
Saskatchewan  are  not  within  the  limits  of  the  Company's 
charter.  This  vigorous  writer  then  deals  with  the  Treaty  of 
Paris,  the  Quebec  Act,  and  the  discoveries  of  Canadian  subjects 
as  giving  Canada  a  jurisdiction  even  to  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

As  might  have  been  expected,  the  Committee  of  1857  be- 
came a  famous  one.  The  whole  economy  of  the  Company 
was  discussed.  The  ground  gone  over  by  Isbister  and  others 
during  the  preceding  decade  supplied  the  members  with 
material,  and  the  proceedings  of  the  Committee  became  notable 
for  their  interest.  The  Committee  held  eighteen  meetings, 
examined  twenty-nine  witnesses,  and  thoroughly  sifted  the 
evidence. 

The  personnel  of  the  Committee  was  brilliant.     The  Secre- 


'AN ADA  COVETS  HUDSON'S  BAY  TERRITORY    451 

iry  of  State  was  Chairman.  Mr.  Roebuck  and  Mr.  Gladstone 
^presented  the  inquiring  and  aggressive  element.  Lord 
tanley  and  Lord  John  Russell  added  their  experience,  Edward 
Illice — "  the  Old  Bear  " — watched  the  case  for  the  Company, 
ad  Mr.  Lowe  and  Sir  John  Pakington  took  a  lively  interest  in 
le  proceedings  and  often  interposed.  Altogether  the  Com- 
tittee  was  constituted  for  active  service,  and  every  nook  and 
•anny  of  Rupert's  Land  and  the  adjoining  territories  was 
loroughly  investigated. 

Among  the  witnesses  was  the  distinguished  Governor 
impson.  He  was  at  his  best.  Mr.  Roebuck  and  he  had 
tany  a  skirmish,  and  although  Sir  George  was  often  driven 
ito  a  corner,  yet  with  surprising  agility  he  recovered  himself . 
Id  explorers  such  as  John  Ross,  Dr.  Rae,  Col.  Lefroy, 
LT  John  Richardson,  Col.  Crofton,  Bishop  Anderson,  Col. 
ild well,  and  Dr.  King,  gave  information  as  to  having  visited 
upert's  Land  at  different  periods.  Their  evidence  was 
ir,  with,  as  could  be  expected  in  most  cases,  a  "  good 
ord  "  for  the  Company.  Rev.  Mr.  Corbett  gave  testimony 
gainst  the  Company,  Governor  Blanshard  in  the  same  strain, 
.  K.  Isbister,  considerably  moderated  in  his  opposition,  gave 
ddence  as  a  native  who  had  travelled  in  the  country,  while 
)hn  McLoughlin,  a  rash  and  heady  agitator,  told  of  the  excite- 
ent  in  Red  River  settlement.  Edward  Ellice  became  a 
itness  as  well  as  a  member  of  the  Committee,  and  with 
Iroitness  covered  the  retreat  of  any  of  his  witnesses  when 
jcessity  arose. 

From  time  to  time,  from  February  to  the  end  of  July,  the 
Dmmittee  met,  and  gathered  a  vast  amount  of  evidence, 
aking  four  hundred  pages  of  printed  matter.  It  is  a  thesaurus 

Hudson's  Bay  Company  material.  It  revealed  not  only 
le  localities  of  this  unknown  land  to  England  and  the  world, 
it  made  everyone  familiar  with  the  secret  methods,  devices, 
id  working  of  the  fur  trade  over  a  space  of  well-nigh  half  a  con- 
nent.  The  Committee  decided  to  recommend  to  Parliament 
iat  it  is  "  important  to  meet  the  just  and  reasonable  wishes  of 
inada  to  assume  such  territory  as  may  be  useful  for  settle- 
.ent ;  that  the  districts  of  the  Red  River  and  the  Saskatche- 
an  seem  the  most  available  ;  and  that  for  the  order  and  good 


452  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

government  of  the  country,"  arrangements  should  be  made 
for  their  cession  to  Canada.  It  was  also  agreed  that  those 
regions  where  settlement  is  impossible  be  left  to  the  exclusive 
control  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  for  the  fur  trade.  The 
Committee  not  only  recommended  that  Vancouver  Island 
should  be  made  independent,  but  that  the  territory  of  the 
mainland  in  British  Columbia  should  be  united  with  it. 

Four  years  after  the  sitting  of  this  Committee,  which  gave 
such  anxiety  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  Sir  George 
Simpson,  after  a  very  short  illness,  passed  away,  having  served 
as  Governor  for  forty  years.  In  an  earlier  chapter  his  place 
and  influence  have  been  estimated  and  his  merits  and  defects 
shown. 

Sir  George,  in  his  high  office  as  Governor  of  Rupert's  Land, 
was  succeeded  by  A.  J.  Dallas,  a  Scottish  merchant,  who  had 
been  in  business  in  China,  had  retired,  and  afterwards  acted  as 
Chief  Factor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  at  Fort  Victoria, 
in  Vancouver  Island,  and  had  then  married  the  daughter  of 
Governor  James  Douglas.  Dallas  had  shown  great  nerve  and 
Judgment  in  British  Columbia,  in  a  serious  brush  with  the 
United  States  authorities  in  1859.  Three  years  after  this 
event  he  was  called  to  succeed  the  great  Governor  of  Rupert's 
Land.  On  his  appointment  to  this  high  position,  he  took  up 
his  residence  at  Fort  Garry,  and  had,  in  conjunction  with  the 
local  Governor,  William  McTavish,  to  face  the  rising  tide  of 
dissatisfaction  which  showed  itself  in  the  Corbett  and  Stewart 
rescues.  Writers  of  the  period  state  that  Dallas  lacked  the 
dignity  and  tact  of  old  Sir  George.  In  his  letters,  however, 
Governor  Dallas  shows  that  he  thoroughly  appreciated  the 
serious  state  of  matters.  He  says  :  "I  have  had  great 
difficulty  in  persuading  the  magistrates  to  continue  to  act. 
Mr.  William  McTavish,  Governor  of  Assiniboia,  has  resigned 
his  post."  Governor  Dallas  says  he ' '  finds  himself  with  all  the 
responsibility  and  semblance  of  authority  over  a  vast  territory, 
but  unsupported,  if  not  ignored,  by  the  Crown."  He  states 
that  people  do  not  object  to  the  personnel  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  government,  but  to  the  "  system  of  government." 
He  fears  the  formation  of  a  provisional  government,  and  a 
movement  for  annexation  to  the  United  States,  which  had 


CANADA  COVETS  HUDSON'S  BAY  TERRITORY    453 

>een  threatened.  He  is  of  opinion  that  the  "  territorial  right 
hould  revert  to  the  Crown."  These  are  strong,  honest  words 
or  an  official  of  the  Company  whose  rule  had  prevailed  for 
ome  two  centuries. 

And  now  Governor  Dallas  appears  co-operating  in  an 
ngenious  and  adroit  financial  scheme  with  Mr.  E.  W.  Watkin, 
,  member  of  the  British  House  of  Commons,  by  which  the 
ludson's  Bay  Company  property  changed  hands.  Edward 
Vatkin  was  a  financial  agent,  who  had  much  to  do  with  the 
Jrand  Trunk  Railway  of  Canada,  and  had  an  intimate 
:nowledge  of  Canadian  affairs.  He  had  succeeded  in  inter- 
sting  the  Colonial  Secretary  of  State,  the  Duke  of  Newcastle, 
a  a  railway,  road,  and  telegraphic  scheme  for  connecting  the 
British  possessions  in  North  America. 

Difficulties  having  arisen  in  inducing  staid  old  Governor 
Kerens,  the  London  head  of  the  Company,  to  accept  modern 
leas,  a  plan  was  broached  of  buying  out  the  whole  Hudson's 
5ay  Company  possessions  and  rights.  Difficulty  after  diffi- 
ulty  was  met  and  surmounted,  and  though  many  a  time 
he  scheme  seemed  hopeless,  yet  in  the  end  it  succeeded, 
hough  not  without  much  friction  and  heart-burning.  Watkin 
.escribes  graphically  the  first  interview  between  three  members 
f  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  Berens,  Eden  Colville,  and 
.yall,  of  the  first  part,  and  Glynn,  Newmarch,  himself,  and 
hree  other  capitalists  of  the  second  part.  The  meeting  took 
lace  in  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  House,  Fenchurch  Street, 
'ebruary  1st,  1862.  "  The  room  was  the  '  Court '  room,  dark 
nd  dirty,  faded  green  cloth,  old  chairs  almost  black,  and  a  fine 
icture  of  Prince  Rupert.  Governor  Berens,  an  old  man  and 
bstinate,  was  somewhat  insulting  in  his  manner.  We  took 
;  patiently."  It  was  a  day  of  fate  for  the  old  Company. 

Many  interviews  afterwards  took  place  between  Watkin  and 
he  accountant  and  solicitors  of  the  Company.  The  Company 
/ould  hear  of  no  dealings,  except  on  the  basis  of  a  cash 
tayment.  The  men  of  capital  accordingly  succeeded  in 
iteresting  the  "  International  Financial  Association,"  a  new 
orporation  looking  for  some  great  scheme  to  lay  before  the 
ublic. 

At  length  the  whole  shares,  property,  and  rights  of  the 


454  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Hudson's  Bay  Company  were  taken  over,  the  final  arrange- 
ments being  made  by  Mr.  Richard  Potter  on  June  1st,  1863. 
Thus  the  Company  begun  in  so  small  a  way  by  Prince  Rupert 
and  his  associates  nearly  two  centuries  before,  sold  out,  and  the 
purchase  money  of  one  and  a  half  millions  of  pounds  was  paid 
over  the  counter  to  the  old  Company  by  the  new  Association. 

A  new  company  was  now  to  be  organized  whose  stock 
would  be  open  for  purchase,  and  the  International  Association 
would,  on  such  organization  being  formed,  hand  over  the 
Company's  assets  to  the  new  stockholders.  In  a  short  time 
the  Company  was  reconstituted,  Sir  Edmund  Head  being  the 
new  Governor,  with,  as  prominent  members  of  the  Board  of 
Directors,  Richard  Potter,  Eden  Colville,  E.  B.  Watkin,  and 
an  American  fur  trader  of  experience,  Sir  Curtis  Lampson. 

Secretly  as  the  negotiations  for  the  formation  of  a  new 
company  had  been  conducted,  the  news  of  the  affair  reached 
Canada  and  Rupert's  Land,  and  led  to  anxious  inquiries  being 
made  and  to  a  memorial  from  the  Company's  officers  being 
presented  to  the  Board  of  Directors  asking  for  information. 
So  thoroughly  secret  had  the  interviews  between  the  London 
parties  been  carried  on  that  the  officials  of  the  London  office 
knew  nothing  of  them,  and  stated  in  their  reply  to  the  memori- 
alists that  the  rumours  were  incorrect.  In  July,  when 
the  transfer  had  been  consummated  and  the  news  of  it  ap- 
peared in  the  public  press,  it  created  surprise  and  indigna- 
tion among  the  chief  factors  and  chief  traders,  who,  under 
the  deed  poll  or  Company  arrangement  which  had  been 
adopted  in  1821,  though  somewhat  modified  thirteen  years 
later,  had  been  regarded  as  having  certain  partnership  rights 
in  the  Company. 

Mr.  Edward  Watkin  informs  us,  in  his  interesting  "  Remi- 
niscences," that  he  had  intended  that  the  "  wintering  part- 
ners," as  the  officers  in  Rupert's  Land  were  called,  should 
have  been  individually  communicated  with,  but  that  on 
account  of  his  hasty  departure  to  Canada  the  matter  had  been 
overlooked.  It  certainly  was  irritating  to  the  officers  of  the 
fur  trade  to  learn  for  the  first  time  from  the  public  press  of 
an  arrangement  being  perfected  involving  their  whole  private 
interests. 


CANADA  COVETS  HUDSON'S  BAY  TERRITORY    455 

Watkin  expresses  his  great  apprehension  lest  the  news  in 
a  distorted  form  should  reach  the  distant  regions  of  the  fur 
country,  where  the  Company  had  one  hundred  and  forty-four 
posts,  covering  the  continent  from  Labrador  to  Sitka,  Van- 
couver Island  and  San  Francisco.  He  feared  also  that 
there  would  be  a  new  company  formed  to  occupy  the  ground 
with  the  old. 

On  reaching  Canada,  Mr.  Watkin  was  agreeably  surprised  at 
the  arrival  of  Governor  Dallas  from  Red  River  in  Montreal. 
After  consultation  it  was  decided  on  that  the  Governor  should 
send  a  conciliatory  circular  to  the  commissioned  officers  of  the 
Company,  explaining  the  objects  of  the  new  Company,  and 
stating  that  all  the  interests  of  the  wintering  partners  would  be 
conserved.  It  is  evident  that  the  attitude  of  the  officers  had 
alarmed  even  such  stout-hearted  men  as  Watkin  and  Dallas. 
There  lies  before  the  writer  also  a  personal  letter,  dated 
London,  July  23rd,  1863,  signed  by  Edmund  Head,  Governor, 
to  a  chief  trader  of  the  Company,  stating  that  it  was  the 
intention  of  the  Committee  **  to  carry  on  the  fur  trade  as  it 
has  been  hitherto  carried  on,  under  the  provisions  of  the  deed 
poll/'  None  of  the  collateral  objects  of  the  Company  "  should 
interfere  with  the  fur  trade/'  He  begs  the  officers  to  "  have 
with  Mm  free  and  unreserved  communication  through  the 
usual  channel."  Evidently  the  echo  of  the  angry  voices  in 
Athabasca  had  been  heard  in  London. 

The  old  deed  poll,  which  they  had  intended  to  suspend,  as 
shown  by  Watkin,  was  thus  preserved.  This  document  secured 
them  as  follows  :  According  to  both  deed  polls  of  1821  and 
1834,  forty  per  cent,  of  the  net  profits  of  the  trade,  divided  into 
eighty -five  shares  of  equal  amount,  were  distributed  annually 
among  the  wintering  partners  of  the  Company.  A  chief 
trader  received  an  eighty-fifth  share  of  the  profits,  and  a  chief 
factor  two  eighty-fifth  shares.  Both  had  certain  rights  after 
retiring. 

The  proposed  abolition  of  these  terms  of  the  deed  poll  and 
the  substitution  therefor  of  certain  salaries  with  the  avowed 
purpose  of  reducing  the  expenses,  of  course  meant  loss  to  every 
wintering  partner.  The  interests  thus  involved  justified  the 
most  strenuous  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  partners,  and, 


456  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

unless  the  proposal  were  modified,  would  almost  certainly  have 
led  to  a  disruption  of  the  Company. 

In  harmony  with  Governor  Head's  circular  letter  no  action 
in  the  direction  contemplated  was  taken  until  1871,  when,  on 
the  receipt  of  the  three  hundred  thousand  pounds  voted  by 
Canada  to  the  Company,  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  seven 
thousand  and  fifty-five  pounds  was  applied  to  buying  out 
the  vested  rights  of  the  wintering  partners,  and  the  agitation 
was  quieted. 

The  effect  of  the  arrangement  made  for  the  payment  of 
officers  of  the  Company  since  1871,  as  compared  with  their 
previous  remuneration,  has  been  a  subject  of  discussion. 

There  lies  before  the  writer  an  elaborate  calculation  by  an 
old  Hudson's  Bay  Company  officer  to  the  effect  that  under  the 
old  deed  poll  a  chief  factor  would  receive  two  eighty-fifth 
shares,  his  total  average  being  seven  hundred  and  twenty 
pounds  per  annum ;  and  under  the  new  (taking  the  average 
of  twenty-five  years)  two  and  one  half-hundredths  shares, 
amounting  to  five  hundred  and  thirty-two  pounds  annually, 
or  a  loss  nearly  of  one  hundred  and  eighty -eight  pounds  ; 
similarly  that  a  chief  trader  would  receive  three  hundred  and 
nineteen  pounds,  as  against  three  hundred  and  sixty  formerly, 
or  a  loss  per  annum  of  forty-one  pounds. 

Besides  this,  the  number  of  higher  commissioned  officers  was 
reduced  when  the  old  deed  poll  was  cancelled,  so  that  the 
stockholders  received  the  advantage  from  there  being  fewer 
officials,  also  the  chances  of  promotion  to  higher  offices  were 
diminished. 

During  the  progress  of  these  internal  dissensions  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  public  opinion  had  been  gradually 
maturing  in  Canada  in  favour  of  acquiring  at  least  a  portion  of 
Rupert's  Land.  At  the  time  of  the  Special  Committee  of  1857, 
it  will  be  remembered  the  Hind-Gladman  expedition  had  gone 
to  spy  out  the  land.  A  company,  called  the  North- West  Trans- 
portation Company,  was  about  the  same  time  organized  in 
Toronto  to  carry  goods  and  open  communication  from  Fort 
William  by  way  of  the  old  fur  traders'  route  to  Fort  Garry. 

The  merits  and  demerits  of  the  north-western  prairies  were 
discussed  in  the  public  press  of  Canada.  Edward  Ermatinger, 


CANADA  COVETS  HUDSON'S  BAY  TERRITORY    457 

whose  name  has  been  already  mentioned,  was  a  steady  sup- 
porter of  the  claim  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  a  series 
of  well -written  letters  in  the  Hamilton  Spectator,  a  journal  of 
Upper  Canada.  Taking  the  usual  line  of  argument  followed  by 
the  Company,  he  showed  the  small  value  of  the  country,  its 
inhospitable  climate,  its  inaccessibility,  and  magnified  the  legal 
claim  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  against  the  Canadian 
contention.  It  is  amusing  to  read  in  after  years,  when  his 
opinion  of  Sir  George  Simpson  was  changed,  his  declaration  of 
regret  at  having  been  led  to  so  strenuously  present  his  views 
in  the  Spectator. 

Ten  years  had  passed  after  the  setting  of  the  great  Committee 
of  1857,  and  nothing  practical  as  to  the  transfer  of  the  country 
to  Canada  had  been  accomplished.  The  confederation  move- 
ment had  now  widened  the  horizon  of  Canadian  public  men. 
In  the  very  year  of  the  confederation  of  the  Canadian  provinces 
(1867),  Hon.  William  McDougall,  who  had  been  a  persistent 
advocate  of  the  Canadian  claim  to  the  North -West,  moved  in 
the  Dominion  Parliament  a  series  of  resolutions,  which  were 
carried.  These  resolutions  showed  the  advantage,  both  to 
Canada  and  the  Empire,  of  the  Dominion  being  extended  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean  ;  that  settlement,  commerce,  and  development  of 
the  resources  of  the  country  are  dependent  on  a  stable  Govern- 
ment being  established  ;  that  the  welfare  of  the  Red  River 
settlers  would  be  enhanced  by  this  means  ;  that  provision  was 
contained  in  the  British  North -American  Act  for  the  admission 
of  Rupert's  Land  and  the  North- West  territory  to  the  Domin- 
ion ;  that  this  wide  country  should  be  united  to  Canada  ;  that 
in  case  of  union  the  legal  rights  of  any  corporation,  as  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  association,  or  individual  should  be 
respected  ;  that  this  should  be  settled  judicially  or  by  agree- 
ment ;  that  the  Indian  title  should  be  legally  extinguished  ; 
and  that  an  address  be  made  to  Her  Majesty  to  this  effect.  The 
resolutions  were  carried  by  a  large  majority  of  the  House. 
This  was  a  bold  and  well-conceived  step,  and  the  era  of  dis- 
cussion and  hesitancy  seemed  to  have  passed  away  in  favour  of 
a  policy  of  action. 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  however,  insisted  on  an  under- 
standing being  come  to  as  to  terms  before  giving  consent  to  the 


458  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

proposed  action,  and  a  despatch  to  the  Dominion  Government 
from  Her  Majesty's  Government  called  attention  to  this  fact. 
As  soon  as  convenient,  a  delegation,  consisting  of  Hon.  George 
E.  Cartier  and  Hon.  William  McDougall,  proceeded  to  England 
to  negotiate  with  the  Company  as  to  terms.  The  path  of  the 
delegates  on  reaching  England  proved  a  thorny  one.  The 
attitude  of  the  Imperial  Government  was  plainly  in  favour  of 
recognizing  some  legal  value  in  the  chartered  rights  of  the 
Company,  a  thing  denied  by  some,  specially  Mr.  McDougall. 
No  progress  was  being  made.  At  this  juncture  D'Israeli's 
Government  was  defeated,  and  a  delay  resulted  in  waiting  for  a 
new  Government.  Earl  Granville  was  the  new  Secretary  of 
State  for  the  Colonies.  While  negotiations  were  going  on,  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  sent  in  to  the  Secretary  of  State  a 
rather  hot  complaint  that  Canadian  surveyors  and  road  builders 
had  entered  upon  their  territory  to  the  west  of  the  Lake  of  the 
Woods.  This  was  quite  true,  but  the  action  had  been  taken 
by  the  Canadian  Government  under  the  impression  that  all 
parties  would  willingly  agree  to  it.  Not  being  at  this  juncture 
able  to  settle  anything,  the  commissioners  returned  to  Canada. 
The  Imperial  Government  was,  however,  in  earnest  in  the 
matter,  and  pressed  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  to  consent  to 
reasonable  terms,  the  more  that  the  government  by  the  Com- 
pany in  Red  River  was  not  satisfactory — an  indisputable  fact. 
At  length  the  Company  felt  bound  to  accept  the  proposed 
terms.  The  main  provisions  of  bargain  were  that  the  Com- 
pany should  surrender  all  rights  in  Rupert's  Land  ;  that 
Canada  pay  the  Company  the  sum  of  three  hundred  thousand 
pounds  ;  that  the  Company  be  allowed  certain  blocks  of  land 
around  their  posts  ;  that  they  be  given  one-twentieth  of  the 
arable  land  of  the  country  ;  and  that  the  Company  should  be 
allowed  every  privilege  in  carrying  on  trade  as  a  regular  trading 
company.  Thus  was  the  concession  of  generous  Charles 
the  Second  surrendered  after  two  centuries  of  honourable 
occupation. 


CHAPTER  XLV. 

TROUBLES  OF  THE  TRANSFER  OF  RUPERT'S  LAND. 

Transfer  Act  passed — A  moribund  government — The  Canadian  sur- 
veying party — Causes  of  the  rebellion — Turbulent  Metis — Ameri- 
can interference — Disloyal  ecclesiastics — Governor  McDougall — 
Kiel  and  his  rebel  band — A  blameworthy  Governor — The  "blawsted 
fence  " — Seizure  of  Fort  Garry — Kiel's  ambitions — Loyal 
rising — Three  wise  men  from  the  East — The,  New  Nation — 
A  winter  meeting — Bill  of  Rights — Canadian  shot — The  Wolseley 
expedition — Three  renegades  slink  away — The  end  of  Com- 
pany rule — The  new  Province  of  Manitoba. 

THE  old  Company  had  agreed  to  the  bargain,  and  the  Imperial 
Act  was  passed  authorizing  the  transfer  of  the  vast  territory 
east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  Canada.  Canada,  with  the 
strengthening  national  spirit  rising  from  the  young  confedera- 
tion, with  pleasure  saw  the  Dominion  Government  place  in  the 
estimates  the  three  hundred  thousand  pounds  for  the  payment 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  an  Act  was  passed  by  the 
Dominion  Parliament  providing  for  a  government  of  the 
north-west  territories,  which  would  secure  the  administration 
of  justice,  and  the  peace,  order,  and  good  government  of  Her 
Majesty's  subjects  and  others.  It  was  enacted,  however,  that 
all  laws  of  the  territory  at  the  time  of  the  passing  of  the  Act 
should  remain  in  force  until  amended  or  repealed,  and  all 
officers  except  the  chief  to  continue  in  office  until  others  were 
appointed. 

And  now  began  the  most  miserable  and  disreputable  exhi- 
bition of  decrepitude,  imbecility,  Jesuitry,  foreign  interference, 
blundering,  and  rash  patriotism  ever  witnessed  in  the  fur 
traders'  country.  This  was  known  as  the  Red  River  rebellion. 
The  writer  arrived  in  Fort  Garry  the  year  following  this  wretched 
affair,  made  the  acquaintance  of  many  of  the  actors  in  the 

459 


460  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

rebellion,  and  heard  their  stories.  The  real,  deep  significance 
of  this  rebellion  has  never  been  fully  made  known.  Whether 
the  writer  will  succeed  in  telling  the  whole  tale  remains  to 
be  seen. 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  officials  at  Red  River  were 
still  the  government.  This  fact  must  be  distinctly  borne  in 
mind.  It  has  been  stated,  however,  that  this  government  had 
become  hopelessly  weak  and  inefficient.  Governor  Dallas, 
in  the  words  quoted,  admitted  this  and  lamented  over  it. 
Were  there  any  doubt  in  regard  to  this  statement,  it  was 
shown  by  the  utter  defiance  of  the  law  in  the  breaking  of  jail 
in  the  three  cases  of  Corbett,  Stewart,  and  Dr.  Schultz.  No 
government  could  retain  respect  when  the  solemn  behests 
of  its  courts  were  laughed  at  and  despised.  This  is  the  real 
reason  lying  at  the  root  of  the  apathy  of  the  English-speaking 
people  of  the  Red  River  in  dealing  with  the  rebellion.  They 
were  not  cowards  ;  they  sprang  from  ancestors  who  had  fought 
Britain's  battles  ;  they  were  intelligent  and  moral ;  they  loved 
their  homes  and  were  prepared  to  defend  them  ;  but  they  had 
no  guarantee  of  leadership  ;  they  had  no  assurance  that  their 
efforts  would  be  given  even  the  colour  of  legality  ;  the  broken- 
down  Jail  outside  Fort  Garry,  its  uprooted  stockades  and  help- 
less old  jailor,  were  the  symbol  of  governmental  decrepitude 
and  were  the  sport  of  any  determined  law-breaker. 

It  has  been  the  habit  of  their  opponents  to  refer  to  the 
annoyance  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  Committee  in 
London  with  Canada  for  in  1869  sending  surveyors  to  examine 
the  country  before  the  transfer  was  made.  Reference  has  also 
been  made  to  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  local  officers  at  the 
action  taken  by  the  Company  in  dealing  with  the  deed  poll  in 
1863  ;  some  have  said  that  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  officials 
at  Fort  Garry  did  not  admire  the  Canadian  leaders  as  they 
saw  them  ;  and  others  have  maintained  that  these  officers 
cared  nothing  for  the  country,  provided  they  received  large 
enough  dividends  as  wintering  partners. 

Now,  there  may  be  something  in  these  contentions,  but  they 
do  not  touch  the  core  of  the  matter.  The  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany, both  in  London  and  Fort  Garry,  were  thoroughly  loyal  to 
British  institutions  ;  the  officers  were  educated,  responsible, 


SOI  TII    \M>    BAST    FACES,    Is  to. 

From  -ki-tdi  l>y  \vjfr  <>i'  (HI vrriior  Finliiysoii. 


EAST    EACH,    IX    YKAK     |SSL>.    \VIIF.X     KiKT    \VAS     DISMANTLED. 
X  Spot  when-  Scott  \VMS  executed. 


FORT    GARRY— WINTER    SCENES. 


400. 


TROUBLES  OF  TRANSFER  OF  RUPERTS  LAND  461 

and  high-minded  men  ;  they  had  acted  up  to  their  light  in  a 
thoroughly  honourable  manner,  and  no  mere  prejudice,  or 
fancied  grievance,  or  personal  dislike  would  have  made  them 
untrue  to  their  trusts.  But  the  government  had  become 
decrepit ;  vacillation  and  uncertainty  characterized  every  act  ; 
had  the  people  been  behind  them,  had  they  not  felt  that  the 
people  distrusted  them,  they  would  have  taken  action,  as  it 
was  their  duty  to  do. 

The  chronic  condition  of  helplessness  and  governmental 
decay  was  emphasized  and  increased  by  a  sad  circumstance. 
Governor  William  McTavish,  an  honourable  and  well-meaning 
man,  was  sick.  In  the  midst  of  the  troubles  of  1863  he  would 
willingly  have  resigned,  as  Governor  Dallas  assures  us  ;  now 
he  was  physically  incapable  of  the  energy  and  decision 
requisite  under  the  circumstances.  Moreover,  as  we  shall  see, 
there  was  a  most  insidious  and  dangerous  influence  dogging 
his  every  step.  His  subordinates  would  not  act  without  him, 
he  could  not  act  without  them,  and  thus  an  absolute  deadlock 
ensued.  Moreover,  the  Council  of  Assiniboia,  an  appointed 
body,  had  felt  itself  for  years  out  of  touch  with  the  sentiment  of 
the  colony,  and  its  efforts  at  legislation  resulted  in  no  improve- 
ment of  the  condition  of  things.  Woe  to  a  country  ruled  by 
an  oligarchy,  however  well-meaning  or  reputable  such  a  body 
may  be  ! 

Turn  now  from  this  picture  of  pitiful  weakness  to  the  un- 
accountable and  culpable  blundering  of  the  Canadian  Govern- 
ment. Cartier  and  McDougall  found  out  in  England  that 
sending  in  a  party  of  surveyors  before  the  country  was  trans- 
ferred was  offensive  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  More 
offensive  still  was  the  method  of  conducting  the  expedition. 
It  was  a  mark  of  sublime  stupidity  to  profess,  as  the  Canadian 
Government  did,  to  look  upon  the  money  spent  on  this  survey 
as  a  benevolent  device  for  relieving  the  people  suffering  from 
the  grasshopper  visitation.  The  genius  who  originated  the 
plan  of  combining  charity  with  gain  should  have  been  canon- 
ized. Moreover,  the  plan  of  contractor  Snow  of  paying  poor 
wages,  delaying  payment,  and  giving  harsh  treatment  to  such 
a  people  as  the  half-breeds  are  known  to  be  was  most  ill  advised. 
The  evidently  selfish  and  grasping  spirit  shown  in  this 


462  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

expedition  sent  to  survey  and  build  the  Dawson  Road,  yet 
turning  aside  to  claim  unoccupied  lands,  to  sow  the  seeds  of 
doubt  and  suspicion  in  the  minds  of  a  people  hitherto  secluded 
from  the  world,  was  most  unpatriotic  and  dangerous.  It 
cannot  be  denied,  in  addition,  that  while  many  of  the  small 
band  of  Canadians  were  reputable  and  hard-working  men,  the 
course  of  a  few  prominent  leaders,  who  had  made  an  illegiti- 
mate use  of  the  Nor'-Wester  newspaper,  had  tended  to  keep 
the  community  in  a  state  of  alienation  and  turmoil. 

What,  then,  were  the  conditions  ?  A  helpless,  moribund 
government,  without  decision,  without  actual  authority  on  the 
one  hand,  and  on  the  other  an  irritating,  selfish,  and  aggres- 
sive expedition,  taking  possession  of  the  land  before  it  was 
transferred  to  Canada,  and  assuming  the  air  of  conquerors. 

Look  now  at  the  combustible  elements  awaiting  this  com- 
bination. The  French  half-breeds,  descendants  of  the  turbulent 
Bois  Brules  of  Lord  Selkirk's  times  ;  the  old  men,  companions 
of  Sayer  and  the  elder  Kiel,  who  defied  the  authority  of  the 
court,  and  left  it  shouting,  ' '  Vive  la  liberte  !  "  now  irritated 
by  the  Dawson  Road  being  built  in  the  way  just  described  ;  the 
road  running  through  the  seigniory  given  by  Lord  Selkirk  to 
the  Roman  Catholic  bishop,  the  road  in  rear  of  their  largest 
settlements,  and  passing  through  another  French  settlement 
at  Pointe  des  Chenes  !  Further,  the  lands  adjacent  to  these 
settlements,  and  naturally  connected  with  them,  being  seized 
by  the  intruders  !  Furthermore,  the  natives,  antagonized  by 
the  action  of  certain  Canadians  who  had  for  years  maintained 
the  country  in  a  state  of  turmoil !  Were  there  not  all  the 
elements  of  an  explosion  of  a  serious  and  dangerous  kind  ? 

Two  other  most  important  forces  in  this  complicated  state  of 
things  cannot  be  left  out.  The  first  of  these  is  a  matter  which 
requires  careful  statement,  but  yet  it  is  a  most  potential  factor 
in  the  rebellion.  This  is  the  attitude  of  certain  persons  in  the 
United  States.  For  twenty  years  and  more  the  trade  of  the 
Red  River  settlement  had  been  largely  carried  on  by  way  of  St. 
Paul,  in  the  State  of  Minnestota.  The  Hudson  Bay  route  and 
York  boat  brigade  were  unable  to  compete  with  the  facilities 
offered  by  the  approach  of  the  railway  to  the  Mississippi  River. 
Accordingly  long  lines  of  Red  River  carts  took  loads  of  furs  to 


TROUBLES  OF  TRANSFER  OF  RUPERT'S  LAND    463 

St.  Paul  and  brought  back  freight  for  the  Company.  The  Red 
River  trade  was  a  recognized  source  of  profit  in  St.  Paul. 
Familiarity  in  trade  led  to  an  interest  on  the  part  of  the 
Americans  in  the  public  affairs  of  Red  River.  Hot-headed 
and  sordid  people  in  Red  River  settlement  had  actually  spoken 
of  the  settlement  being  connected  with  the  United  States. 

Now  that  irritation  was  manifested  at  Red  River,  steps  were 
taken  by  private  parties  from  the  United  States  to  fan  the 
flame.  At  Pembina,  on  the  border  between  Rupert's  Land 
and  the  United  States,  lived  a  nest  of  desperadoes  willing  to 
take  any  steps  to  accomplish  their  purposes.  They  had  access 
to  all  the  mails  which  came  from  England  to  Canada  marked 
"  Via  Pembina."  Pembina  was  an  outpost  refuge  for  law- 
breakers and  outcasts  from  the  United  States.  Its  people 
used  all  their  power  to  disturb  the  peace  of  Red  River  settle- 
ment. In  addition,  a  considerable  number  of  Americans  had 
come  to  the  little  village  of  Winnipeg,  now  being  begun  near 
the  walls  of  Fort  Garry.  These  men  held  their  private  meet- 
ings, all  looking  to  the  creation  of  trouble  and  the  provocation 
of  feeling  that  might  lead  to  change  of  allegiance.  Further- 
more, the  writer  is  able  to  state,  on  the  information  of  a  man 
high  in  the  service  of  Canada,  and  a  man  not  unknown  in 
Manitoba,  that  there  was  a  large  sum  of  money,  of  which  an 
amount  was  named  as  high  as  one  million  dollars,  which  was 
available  in  St.  Paul  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  hold  by  the 
Americans  on  the  fertile  plains  of  Rupert's  Land. 

Here,  then,  was  an  agency  of  most  dangerous  proportions,  an 
element  in  the  village  of  Winnipeg  able  to  control  the  election 
of  the  first  delegate  to  the  convention,  a  desperate  body  of 
men  on  the  border,  who  with  Machiavelian  persistence  fanned 
the  flame  of  discontent,  and  a  reserve  of  power  in  St.  Paul 
ready  to  take  advantage  of  any  emergency. 

A  still  more  insidious  and  threatening  influence  was  at  work. 
Here  again  the  writer  is  aware  of  the  gravity  of  the  statement 
he  is  making,  but  he  has  evidence  of  the  clearest  kind  for  his 
position.  A  dangerous  religious  element  in  the  country- 
ecclesiastics  from  old  France — who  had  no  love  for  Britain,  no 
love  for  Canada,  no  love  for  any  country,  no  love  for  society,  no 
love  for  peace  !  These  plotters  were  in  close  association  with 


464  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

the  half-breeds,  dictated  their  policy,  and  freely  mingled  with 
the  rebels.  One  of  them  was  an  intimate  friend  of  the  leader 
of  the  rebellion,  consulted  with  him  in  his  plans,  and  exercised 
a  marked  influence  on  his  movements.  This  same  foreign 
priest,  with  Jesuitical  cunning,  gave  close  attendance  on  the 
sick  Governor,  and  through  his  family  exercised  a  constant 
and  detrimental  power  upon  the  only  source  of  authority 
then  in  the  land.  Furthermore,  an  Irish  student  and  teacher, 
with  a  Fenian  hatred  of  all  things  British,  was  a l '  familiar  "  of 
the  leader  of  the  rebellion,  and  with  true  Milesian  zeal  advanced 
the  cause  of  the  revolt. 

Can  a  more  terrible  combination  be  imagined  than  this  ?  A 
decrepit  government  with  the  executive  officer  sick  ;  a  rebel- 
lious and  chronically  dissatisfied  Metis  element ;  a  government 
at  Ottawa  far  removed  by  distance,  committing  with  unvarying 
regularity  blunder  after  blunder  ;  a  greedy  and  foreign  cabal 
planning  to  seize  the  country,  and  a  secret  Jesuitical  plot  to 
keep  the  Governor  from  action  and  to  incite  the  fiery  Metis  to 
revolt ! 

The  drama  opens  with  the  appointment,  in  September,  1869, 
by  the  Dominion  Government,  of  the  Hon.  William  McDougall 
as  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  north-west  territories,  his  depar- 
ture from  Toronto,  and  his  arrival  at  Pembina,  in  the  Dakota 
territory,  in  the  end  of  October.  He  was  accompanied  by  his 
family,  a  small  staff,  and  three  hundred  stand  of  arms  with 
ammunition.  He  had  been  preceded  by  the  Hon.  Joseph 
Howe,  of  the  Dominion  Government,  who  visited  the  Red 
River  settlement  ostensibly  to  feel  the  pulse  of  public  opinion, 
but  as  Commissioner  gaining  little  information.  Mr.  Mc- 
DougalFs  commission  as  Governor  was  to  take  effect  after 
the  formal  transfer  of  the  territory.  He  reached  Pembina, 
where  he  was  served  with  a  notice  not  to  enter  the  territory, 
yet  he  crossed  the  boundary  line  at  Pembina,  and  took 
possession  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Fort  of  West  Lynn,  two  miles 
north  of  the  boundary. 

Meanwhile  a  storm  was  brewing  along  Red  River.  A  young 
French  half-breed,  Louis  Riel,  son  of  the  excitable  miller  of 
the  Seine  of  whom  mention  was  made — a  young  man,  educated 
by  the  Roman  Catholic  Bishop  Tache,  of  St.  Boniface,  for  a 


TROUBLES  OF  TRANSFER  OF  RUPERT'S  LAND  465 

time,  and  afterwards  in  Montreal,  was  regarded  as  the  hope  of 
the  Metis.  He  was  a  young  man  of  fair  ability,  but  proud, 
vain,  and  assertive,  and  had  the  ambition  to  be  a  Caesar  or 
Napoleon.  He  with  his  followers  had  stopped  the  surveyors 
in  their  work,  and  threatened  to  throw  off  the  approaching 
tyranny.  Professing  to  be  loyal  to  Britain  but  hostile  to 
Canada,  he  succeeded,  in  October,  in  getting  a  small  body  of 
French  half-breeds  to  seize  the  main  highway  at  St.  Norbert, 
some  nine  miles  south  of  Fort  Garry. 

The  message  to  Mr.  McDougall  not  to  enter  the  territory 
was  forwarded  by  this  body,  that  already  considered  itself  the 
de  facto  government.  A  Canadian  settler  at  once  swore  an 
affidavit  before  the  officer  in  charge  of  Fort  Garry  that  an 
armed  party  of  French  half-breeds  had  assembled  to  oppose 
the  entrance  of  the  Governor. 

Here,  then,  was  the  hour  of  destiny.  An  outbreak  had  taken 
place,  it  was  illegal  to  oppose  any  man  entering  the  country, 
not  to  say  a  Governor,  the  fact  of  revolt  was  immediately 
brought  to  Fort  Garry,  and  no  amount  of  casuistry  or  apology 
can  ever  justify  Governor  McTavish,  sick  though  he  was,  from 
immediately  not  taking  action,  and  compelling  his  council 
to  take  action  by  summoning  the  law-abiding  people  to 
surround  him  and  repress  the  revolt.  But  the  government 
that  would  allow  the  defiance  of  the  law  by  permitting  men 
to  live  at  liberty  who  had  broken  jail  could  not  be  expected  to 
take  action.  To  have  done  so  would  have  been  to  work  a 
miracle. 

The  rebellion  went  on  apace  ;  two  of  the  so-called  Governor's 
staff  pushed  on  to  the  barricade  erected  at  St.  Norbert.  Cap- 
tain Cameron,  one  of  them,  with  eyeglass  in  poise,  and  with 
affected  authority,  gave  command,  "  Remove  that  blawsted 
fence,"  but  the  half-breeds  were  unyielding.  The  two  mes- 
sengers returned  to  Pembina,  where  they  found  Mr.  McDougall 
likewise  driven  back  and  across  the  boundary.  Did  ever 
British  prestige  suffer  a  more  humiliating  blow  ? 

The  act  of  rebellion,  usually  dangerous,  proved  in  this  case  a 

trivial  one,  and  RieFs  little  band  of  forty  or  fifty  badly-armed 

Metis  began  to  grow.     The  mails  were  seized,  freight  coming 

into  the  country  became  booty,  and  the  experiment  of  a  rising 

Hh 


466  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

was  successful.  In  the  meantime  the  authorities  of  Fort 
Garry  were  inactive.  The  rumour  came  that  Riel  thought  of 
seizing  the  fort.  An  affidavit  of  the  chief  of  police  under  the 
Government  shows  that  he  urged  the  master  of  Fort  Garry  to 
meet  the  danger,  and  asked  authority  to  call  upon  a  portion  of 
the  special  police  force  sworn  in,  shortly  before,  to  preserve  the 
peace.  No  Governor  spoke  ;  no  one  even  closed  the  fort  as  a 
precaution  ;  its  gates  stood  wide  open  to  friend  or  foe. 

This  exhibition  of  helplessness  encouraged  the  conspirators, 
and  Riel  and  one  hundred  of  his  followers  (November  2nd) 
unopposed  took  possession  of  the  fort  and  quartered  themselves 
upon  the  Company.  In  the  front  part  of  the  fort  lived  the 
Governor  ;  he  was  now  flanked  by  a  bodyguard  of  rebels  ;  the 
master  of  the  fort,  a  burly  son  of  Britain,  though  very  gruff 
and  out  of  sorts,  could  do  nothing,  and  the  young  Napoleon  of 
the  Metis  fattened  on  the  best  of  the  land. 

Riel  now  issued  a  proclamation,  calling  on  the  English- 
speaking  parishes  of  the  settlement  to  elect  twelve  repre- 
sentatives to  meet  the  President  and  representatives  of  the 
French-speaking  population,  appointing  a  meeting  for  twelve 
days  afterwards. 

Mr.  McDougall,  on  hearing  of  the  seizure  of  the  fort,  wrote 
to  Governor  McTavish  stating  that  as  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  was  still  the  government,  action  should  be  taken 
to  disperse  the  rebels.  A  number  of  loyal  inhabitants  also 
petitioned  Governor  McTavish  to  issue  his  proclamation  call- 
ing on  the  rebels  to  disperse.  The  sick  and  helpless  Governor, 
fourteen  days  after  the  seizure  of  the  fort  and  twenty-three 
days  after  the  affidavit  of  the  rising,  issued  a  tardy  proclama- 
tion condemning  the  rebels  and  calling  upon  them  to  disperse. 
The  Convention  met  November  16th/  the  English  parishes 
having  been  cajoled  into  electing  delegates,  thinking  thus  to 
soothe  the  troubled  land.  After  meeting  and  discussing  in 
hot  and  useless  words  the  state  of  affairs,  the  Convention 
adjourned  till  December  1st,  it  being  evident,  however,  that 
Riel  desired  to  form  a  provisional  government  of  which  he 
should  be  the  joy  and  pride. 

The  day  for  the  reassembling  of  the  Convention  arrived. 
Riel  and  his  party  insisted  on  ruling  the  meeting,  and  passed  a 


TROUBLES  OF  TRANSFER  OF  RUPERTS  LAND  467 

* '  Bill  of  Rights  "  consisting  of  fifteen  provisions.  The  Eng- 
lish people  refused  to  accept  these  propositions,  and,  after 
vainly  endeavouring  to  take  steps  to  meet  Mr.  McDougall, 
withdrew  to  their  homes,  ashamed  and  confounded. 

Meanwhile  Mr.  McDougall  was  chafing  at  the  strange  and 
humiliating  situation  in  which  he  found  himself.  With  his 
family  and  staff  poorly  housed  at  Pembina  and  the  severe 
winter  coming  on,  he  could  scarcely  be  blamed  for  irritation 
and  discontent.  December  1st  was  the  day  on  which  he 
expected  his  commission  as  Governor  to  come  into  effect,  and 
wonder  of  wonders,  he,  a  lawyer,  a  privy  councillor,  and  an 
experienced  statesman,  went  so  far  on  this  mere  supposition 
as  to  issue  a  proclamation  announcing  his  appointment  as 
Governor.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  far  away  from  communication 
with  Ottawa,  he  was  mistaken  as  to  the  transfer.  On  account 
of  the  rise  of  the  rebellion  this  had  not  been  made,  and  Mr. 
McDougall,  in  issuing  a  spurious  proclamation,  became  a  thing 
of  contempt  to  the  insurgents,  an  object  of  pity  to  the  loyalists, 
and  the  laughing-stock  of  the  whole  world.  His  proclamation 
at  the  same  time  authorizing  Colonel  Dennis,  the  Canadian 
surveyor  in  Red  River  settlement,  to  raise  a  force  to  put 
down  the  rebellion,  was  simply  a  brutum  fulmen,  and  was  the 
cause  to  innocent,  well-meaning  men  of  trouble  and  loss. 
Colonel  Dennis  succeeded  in  raising  a  force  of  some  four 
hundred  men,  and  would  not  probably  have  failed  had  it  not 
transpired  that  the  two  proclamations  were  illegal  and  that  the 
levies  were  consequently  unauthorized.  Such  a  thing  to  be 
carried  out  by  William  McDougall  and  Colonel  Dennis,  men 
of  experience  and  ability  !  Surely  there  could  be  no  greater 
fiasco  ! 

The  Canadian  people  were  now  in  a  state  of  the  greatest 
excitement,  and  the  Canadian  Government,  aware  of  its 
blundering  and  stupidity,  hastened  to  rectify  its  mistakes. 
Commissioners  were  sent  to  negotiate  with  the  various  parties 
in  Red  River  settlement.  These  were  Vicar-General  Thibault, 
who  had  spent  long  years  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Missions  of 
the  North-West,  Colonel  de  Salaberry,  a  French  Canadian, 
and  Mr.  Donald  A.  Smith,  the  chief  officer  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  then  at  Montreal.  On  the  last  of  these 


468  THE    HUDSON'S    BAY   COMPANY 

Commissioners,  who  had  been  clothed  with  very  wide  powers, 
lay  the  chief  responsibility,  as  will  be  readily  seen. 

A  number  of  Canadians — nearly  fifty — had  been  assembled 
in  the  store  of  Dr.  Schultz,  at  the  village  of  Winnipeg,  and,  on 
the  failure  of  Mr.  McDougalFs  proclamation,  were  left  in  a 
very  awkward  condition.  With  arms  in  their  hands,  they 
were  looked  upon  by  Kiel  as  dangerous,  and  with  promises  of 
freedom  and  of  the  intention  of  Kiel  to  meet  McDougall  and 
settle  the  whole  matter,  they  (December  7th)  surrendered. 
Safely  in  the  fort  and  in  the  prison  outside  the  wall,  the 
prisoners  were  kept  by  the  truce -breaker,  and  the  Metis  con- 
tingent celebrated  the  victory  by  numerous  potations  of  rum 
taken  from  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  stores. 

Riel  now  took  a  step  forward  in  issuing  a  proclamation, 
which  has  generally  been  attributed  to  the  crippled  postmaster 
at  Pembina,  one  of  the  dangerous  foreign  clique  longing  to 
seize  the  settlement.  He  also  hoisted  a  new  flag,  with  the 
fleur-de-lis  worked  upon  it,  thus  giving  evidence  of  his  dis- 
loyalty and  impudence.  Other  acts  of  injustice,  such  as 
seizing  Company  funds  and  interfering  with  personal  liberty, 
were  committed  by  him. 

On  December  27th — a  memorable  day — Mr.  Donald  A. 
Smith  arrived.  His  commission  and  papers  were  left  at 
Pembina,  and  he  went  directly  to  Fort  Garry,  where  Riel 
received  him.  The  interview,  given  in  Mr.  Smith's  own 
words,  was  a  remarkable  one.  Riel  vainly  sought  to  induce 
the  Commissioner  to  recognize  his  government,  and  yet 
was  afraid  to  show  disrespect  to  so  high  and  honoured  an 
officer.  For  about  two  months  Commissioner  Smith  lived 
at  Fort  Garry,  in  a  part  of  the  same  building  as  Governor 
McTavish. 

Mr.  Smith  says  of  this  period,  * '  The  state  of  matters  at  this 
time  was  most  unsatisfactory  and  truly  humiliating.  Up- 
wards of  fifty  British  subjects  were  held  in  close  confinement 
as  political  prisoners  ;  security  for  persons  or  property  there 
was  none.  .  .  .  The  leaders  of  the  French  half-breeds  had 
declared  their  determination  to  use  every  effort  for  the  purpose 
of  annexing  the  territory  to  the  United  States." 

Mr.  Smith  acted  with  great  wisdom  and  decision.     His  plan 


TROUBLES  OF  TRANSFER  OF  RUPERT'S  LAND     469 

evidently  was  to  have  no  formal  breach  with  Kiel  but  gradually 
to  undermine  him,  and  secure  a  combination  by  which  he 
could  be  overthrown.  Many  of  the  influential  men  of  the 
settlement  called  upon  Mr.  Smith,  and  the  affairs  of  the 
country  were  discussed.  Kiel  was  restless  and  at  times  im- 
pertinent, but  the  Commissioner  exercised  his  Scottish  caution, 
and  bided  his  time. 

At  this  time  a  newspaper,  called  The  New  Nation,  appeared 
as  the  organ  of  the  provisional  government.  This  paper 
openly  advocated  annexation  to  the  United  States,  thus  show- 
the  really  dangerous  nature  of  the  movement  embodied  in  the 
rebellion. 

During  all  these  months  of  the  rebellion,  Bishop  Tache, 
the  influential  head  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  had  been 
absent  in  Rome  at  the  great  Council  of  that  year.  One  of  his 
most  active  priests  left  behind  was  Father  Lestanc,  the  prince 
of  plotters,  who  has  generally  been  credited  with  belonging 
to  the  Jesuit  Order.  Lestanc  had  sedulously  haunted  the 
presence  of  the  Governor  ;  he  was  a  daring  and  extreme  man, 
and  to  him  and  his  fellow-Frenchman,  the  cure  of  St.  Norbert, 
much  of  Riel's  obstinacy  has  been  attributed.  Commissioner 
Smith  now  used  his  opportunity  to  weaken  Riel.  He  offered 
to  send  for  his  commission  to  Pembina,  if  he  were  allowed  to 
meet  the  people.  Riel  consented  to  this.  The  commission 
was  sent  for,  and  Riel  tried  to  intercept  the  messenger,  but 
failed  to  do  so.  The  meeting  took  place  on  January  19th. 
It  was  a  date  of  note  for  Red  River  settlement.  One  thousand 
people  assembled,  and  as  there  was  no  building  capable  of 
holding  the  people,  the  meeting  took  place  in  the  open  ah1,  the 
temperature  being  twenty  below  zero. 

The  outcome  of  this  meeting  was  the  election  and  sub- 
sequent assembling  of  forty  representatives — one  half  French, 
the  other  half  English — to  consider  the  matter  of  Commissioner 
Smith's  message.  Six  days  after  the  open-air  meeting  the 
Convention  met.  A  second  "  Bill  of  Rights  "  was  adopted, 
and  it  was  agreed  to  send  delegates  to  Ottawa  to  meet  the 
Dominion  Government.  A  provisional  government  was 
formed,  at  the  request,  it  is  said,  of  Governor  McTavish,  and 
Riel  gained  the  height  of  his  ambition  in  being  made 


470  THE    HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

President,  while  the  fledgling  Fenian  priest,  O'Donoghue, 
became  "  Secretary  of  the  Treasury/' 

The  retention  of  the  prisoners  in  captivity  aroused  a  deep 
feeling  in  the  country,  and  a  movement  originated  in  Portage 
La  Prairie  to  rescue  the  unfortunates.  This  force  was  joined 
by  recruits  at  Kildonan,  making  up  six  hundred  in  all.  Awed 
by  this  gathering,  Kiel  released  the  prisoners,  though  he  was 
guilty  of  an  act  of  deepest  treachery  in  arresting  nearly  fifty 
of  the  Assiniboine  levy  as  they  were  returning  to  their  homes. 
Among  them  was  Major  Boulton,  who  afterwards  narrowly 
escaped  execution,  and  who  has  written  an  interesting  account 
of  the  rebellion. 

The  failure  of  the  two  parties  of  loyalists,  and  their  easy 
capture  by  Riel,  raises  the  question  of  the  wisdom  of  these 
efforts.  No  doubt  the  inspiring  motive  of  these  levies  was  in 
many  cases  true  patriotism,  and  it  reflects  credit  on  them  as 
men  of  British  blood  and  British  pluck,  but  the  management 
of  both  was  so  unfortunate  and  so  lacking  in  skill,  that  one 
is  disposed,  though  lamenting  their  failures,  to  put  these 
expeditions  down  as  dictated  by  the  greatest  rashness, 

The  elevation  of  Riel  served  to  awaken  high  ambitions. 
The  late  Archbishop  Tache,  in  a  later  rebellion,  characterized 
Riel  as  a  remarkable  example  of  inflated  ambition,  and  called 
his  state  of  mind  that  of  "  megalomania/5  Riel  now  became 
more  irritable  and  domineering.  He  seemed  also  bitter  against 
the  English  for  the  signs  of  insubordination  appearing  in  all 
the  parishes.  The  influence  of  the  violent  and  dastardly 
Lestanc  was  strong  upon  him.  The  anxious  President  now 
determined  to  awe  the  English,  and  condemned  for  execu- 
tion a  young  Irish  Canadian  prisoner  named  Thomas  Scott. 
Commissioner  Smith  and  a  number  of  influential  inhabitants 
did  everything  possible  to  dissuade  Riel,  but  he  persisted,  and 
Scott  was  publicly  executed  near  Fort  Garry  on  March  4th, 
1870. 

;'  Whom  the  gods  destroy,  they  first  make  mad."  The 
execution  of  Scott  was  the  death-knell  of  Riel's  hopes.  Canada 
was  roused  to  its  centre.  Determined  to  have  no  further 
communication  with  Riel,  Commissioner  Smith  as  soon  as 
possible  left  Fort  Garry  and  returned  to  Canada. 


COMMISSIONER    CHI  I'M  AN    (WINNIPEG). 
Executive  Officer  of  H.B.  Co.  in  Canada. 


470. 


TROUBLES  OF  TRANSFER  OF  RUPERT'S  LAND     471 

The  arrival  of  Bishop  Tache,  who  had  returned  at  the 
request  of  the  Canadian  Government,  took  place  in  due  time. 
Probably  the  real  attitude  of  Bishop  Tache  will  never  be 
known,  though  his  strong  French  Canadian  associations  and 
love  of  British  connection  make  it  seem  hardly  possible  that 
he  could  have  been  implicated  in  the  rebellion.  Bishop  Tache 
endeavoured  to  overcome  the  terrible  mistake  of  Riel.  Com- 
missioners were  despatched  to  Ottawa,  the  most  important  of 
them  Father  Ritchot,  of  St.  Norbert,  whose  hand  had  been  in 
the  plot  from  the  beginning.  Carrying  down  a ' '  Bill  of  Rights  " 
from  the  provisional  government,  which,  however,  there  is 
clear  evidence  Ritchot  and  others  took  the  liberty  of  altering, 
they  were  instrumental  in  having  a  Bill  passed  through  the 
Dominion  Parliameut,  establishing  Manitoba  as  a  province. 

For  the  establishment  of  peace,  an  expedition  was  organized 
by  Canada,  consisting  of  British  regulars  and  Canadian  volun- 
teers, under  Colonel  Wolseley.  Coming  from  Canada  up  the 
fur-traders'  route,  through  Lake  of  the  Woods,  down  Winnipeg 
River,  across  Lake  Winnipeg,  and  up  the  Red  River,  the 
expedition  arrived,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  suffering  people  of 
the  settlement,  on  August  24th,  1870.  After  eleven  months 
of  the  most  torturing  anxiety  had  been  endured,  the  sight 
of  the  rescuing  soldiery  sent  the  blood  pulsing  again  through 
their  veins.  As  the  troops  approached  Fort  Garry,  three 
slinking  figures  were  seen  to  leave  the  fort  and  escape  across 
the  Assiniboine.  These  were  the  "  President  Riel,"  "  Adju- 
tant-General "  Lepine,  and  the  scoundrel  O'Donoghue. 
"  They  folded  their  tents  like  the  Arabs,  and  as  silently  stole 
away."  Colonel  Wolseley  says,  "  The  troops  then  formed 
line  outside  the  fort,  the  Union  Jack  was  hoisted,  a  royal 
salute  fired,  and  three  cheers  were  given  for  the  Queen, 
which  were  caught  up  and  heartily  re-echoed  by  many  of  the 
civilians  and  settlers  who  had  followed  the  troops  from  the 
village." 

The  transfer  of  Rupert's  Land  had  been  completed,  and  the 
governing  power  of  the  famous  old  Company  was  a  thing  of 
the  past. 


CHAPTER  XLVL 

PRESENT  STATUS  OF  THE  COMPANY. 

A  great  land  Company — Fort  Garry  dismantled — The  new  buildings 
— New  v.  Old — New  life  in  the  Company — Palmy  days  are  recalled 
— Governors  of  ability — The  present  distinguished  Governor — 
Vaster  operations — Its  eye  not  dimmed. 

BELIEVED  of  the  burden  of  government,  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  threw  itself  heartily  into  the  work  of  developing  its 
resources.  Mr.  Donald  A.  Smith,  who  had  done  so  much 
to  undermine  the  power  of  Kiel,  returned  to  Manitoba  as  Chief 
Commissioner  of  the  Company,  and  proceeded  to  manage  its 
affairs  in  the  altered  conditions  of  the  country.  Representing 
enormous  interests  in  the  North-West,  Mr.  Smith  entered  the 
first  local  legislature  at  Winnipeg,  and  soon  after  became  for 
a  time  a  member  of  the  Canadian  House  of  Commons.  One 
of  the  most  important  matters  needing  attention  was  the  land 
interests  of  the  Company.  The  Company  claimed  five  hundred 
acres  around  Fort  Garry.  This  great  tract  of  land,  covering 
now  one  of  the  most  important  parts  of  the  City  of  Winnipeg, 
was  used  as  a  camping -ground,  where  the  traders  from  the 
far  west  posts,  even  as  far  as  Edmonton,  made  their  "  corrals  " 
and  camped  during  their  stay  at  the  capital.  Some  opposition 
was  developed  to  this  claim,  but  the  block  of  land  was  at  length 
handed  over  to  the  Company,  fifty  acres  being  reserved  for 
public  purposes. 

The  allotment  of  wild  land  to  the  Company  of  one-twentieth 
went  on  in  each  township  as  it  was  surveyed,  and  though  all 
this  land  is  taxable,  yet  it  has  become  a  great  source  of  revenue 
to  the  Company.  Important  sites  and  parcels  of  land  all  over 
the  country  have  helped  to  swell  its  resources. 

The  great  matter  of  adapting  its  agencies  to  meet  the  changed 

472 


PRESENT   STATUS  OF   THE    COMPANY      473 

conditions  of  trade  was  a  difficult  thing.  The  methods  of  two 
centuries  could  not  be  changed  in  a  day.  The  greatest  diffi- 
culty lay  in  the  officers  and  men  remote  from  the  important 
centres.  It  was  reported  that  in  many  of  the  posts  no  thor- 
ough method  of  book-keeping  prevailed.  The  dissatisfaction 
arising  from  the  sale  made  by  the  Company  in  1863,  and  the 
uncertainty  as  to  the  deed  poll,  no  doubt  introduced  an  element 
of  fault-finding  and  discontent  into  the  Company's  business. 
Some  of  the  most  trusted  officers  retired  from  the  service. 
The  resources  of  the  Company  were,  however,  enormous,  its 
credit  being  practically  unlimited,  and  this  gave  it  a  great  ad- 
vantage in  competing  with  the  Canadian  merchants  coming 
to  the  country,  the  majority  of  whom  had  little  capital.  Ten 
years  after  the  transfer  Fort  Garry  was  sold,  and  though  it 
came  back  on  the  hands  of  the  Company,  yet  miserabile  dictu, 
the  fort  had  been  dismantled,  thrown  down,  and  even  the  stone 
removed,  with  the  exception  of  the  front  gate,  which  still 
remains.  This  gate,  with  a  portion  of  ground  about  it,  has 
been  given  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  to  the  City  of  Winni- 
peg as  a  small  historic  park.  Since  the  time  of  sale,  large 
warehouses  have  been  erected,  not  filled,  as  were  the  old  shops, 
with  bright  coloured  cloths,  moccasins,  and  beads,  fitted  for 
the  Indian  and  native  trade,  but  aiming  at  full  departments 
after  the  model  of  Maple  and  Shoolbred,  of  the  mother  city  of 
London.  These  shops  are  represented  in  the  plate  accom- 
panying this  description. 

The  trade  thus  modified  has  been  under  the  direction  of 
men  of  ability,  who  succeeded  Mr.  Donald  A.  Smith,  such 
as  Messrs.  Wrigley,  Brydges,  and  a  number  of  able  sub- 
ordinates. The  extension  of  trade  has  gone  on  in  many  of 
the  rising  towns  of  the  Canadian  West,  where  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  was  not  before  represented,  such  as  Portage  La 
Prairie,  Calgary,  Lethbridge,  Prince  Albert,  Vancouver,  &c. 
In  all  these  points  the  Company's  influence  has  been  a  very 
real  and  important  one. 

The  methods  of  trade,  now  employed,  require  a  skill  and 
knowledge  never  needed  in  the  old  fur-trading  days.  The 
present  successful  Commissioner,  C.  C.  Chipman,  Esq.,  resi- 
dent in  Winnipeg,  controls  and  directs  interests  far  greater 


474  THE    HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

than  Sir  George  Simpson  was  called  upon  to  deal  with.  Pre- 
sent and  Past  presents  a  contrast  between  ceaseless  competi- 
tion and  a  sleepy  monopoly. 

The  portions  of  the  country  not  reached,  or  likely  to  be 
reached  by  settlement,  have  remained  in  possession  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  almost  solely.  The  Canadian  Govern- 
ment has  negotiated  treaties  with  the  Indians  as  far  north  as 
Lake  Athabasca,  leaving  many  of  the  Chipewyans  and  Eskimos 
still  to  the  entire  management  of  the  Company. 

The  impression  among  the  officers  of  the  Company  is  that 
under  the  deed  poll  of  1871  they  are  not  so  well  remunerated 
as  under  the  former  regime.  It  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  exact 
relation  of  the  present  to  the  past,  inasmuch  as  the  opening 
up  of  the  country,  the  improvement  of  transportation  facilities, 
and  the  cheapening  of  all  agricultural  supplies  has  changed  the 
relative  value  of  money  in  the  country.  Under  this  arrange- 
ment, which  has  been  in  force  for  twenty -four  years,  the  profits 
of  the  wintering  partners  are  divided  on  the  basis  of  one -hun- 
dredth of  a  share.  Of  this  an  inspecting  chief  factor  receives 
three  shares  ;  a  chief  factor  two  and  a  half  ;  a  factor  two  ;  and 
a  chief  trader  one  and  a  half  shares.  The  average  for  the 
twenty -five  years  of  the  one -hundredth  share  has  been 
2131.  12s.  2^d.  Since  1890  a  more  liberal  provision  has  been 
made  for  officers  retiring,  and  since  that  time  an  officer 
on  withdrawing  in  good  standing  receives  two  years'  full  pay 
and  six  years'  half  pay.  Later  years  have  seen  a  further 
increase. 

A  visit  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  House  on  the  corner  of  Leaden- 
hall  and  Lime  Streets,  London,  still  gives  one  a  sense  of  the 
presence  of  the  old  Company.  While  in  the  New  World  great 
changes  have  taken  place,  and  the  visitor  is  struck  with  the 
complete  departure  from  the  low-ceiling  store,  with  goods  in 
disorder  and  confusion,  with  Metis  smoking  "  kinni-kinnik  " 
till  the  atmosphere  is  opaque — all  this  to  the  palatial  buildings 
with  the  most  perfect  arrangements  and  greatest  taste  ;  yet 
in  London  ' '  the  old  order  changeth  "  but  slowly.  It  is  true 
the  old  building  on  Fenchurch  Street,  London,  where  "  the 
old  Lady  "  was  said  by  the  Nor '-Westers  to  sit,  was  sold  in 
1859,  and  the  proceeds  divided  among  the  shareholders  and 


PRESENT   STATUS    OF    THE    COMPANY     475 

officers  for  four  years  thereafter.  But  the  portraits  of  Prince 
Rupert,  Sir  George  Simpson,  and  the  copy  of  the  Company 
Charter  were  transferred  bodily  to  the  directors'  room  in  the 
building  on  Lime  Street.  The  strong  room  contains  the  same 
rows  of  minutes,  the  same  dusty  piles  of  documents,  and  the 
journals  of  bygone  years,  but  the  business  of  a  vast  region  is 
still  managed  there,  and  the  old  gentlemen  who  control  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  affairs  pass  their  dividends  as  com- 
fortably as  in  years  gone  by,  with,  in  an  occasional  year,  some 
restless  spirit  stirring  up  the  echoes,  to  be  promptly  repressed 
and  the  current  of  events  to  go  on  as  before. 

Since  1871,  however,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  men  of  greater 
financial  ability  have  been  at  the  head  of  the  councils  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  recalling  the  palmy  days  of  the  first 
operations  of  the  Company.  After  five  years'  service,  Sir 
Edmund  Head,  the  first  Governor  under  the  new  deed  poll, 
gave  way,  to  be  followed  for  a  year  by  the  distinguished 
politician  and  statesman,  the  Earl  of  Kimberley.  For  five 
years  thereafter,  Sir  Stafford  Northcote,  who  held  high  Govern- 
ment office  in  the  service  of  the  Empire,  occupied  this  position. 
He  was  followed  for  six  years  by  one  who  has  since  gained  a 
very  high  reputation  for  financial  ability,  the  Rt.  Hon.  G.  J. 
Goschen.  Eden  Colville,  who  seems  to  carry  us  back  to 
the  former  generation — a  man  of  brisk  and  alert  mind,  and 
singularly  free  from  the  prejudices  and  immobility  of  Governor 
Berens,  the  last  of  the  barons  of  the  old  regime — held  office  for 
three  years  after  Mr.  Goschen. 

For  the  last  ten  years  the  veteran  of  kindly  manner,  warm 
heart,  and  genial  disposition,  Lord  Strathcona  and  Mount 
Royal,  has  occupied  this  high  place.  The  clerk,  junior  officer, 
and  chief  factor  of  thirty  hard  years  on  the  inhospitable  shores 
of  Hudson  Bay  and  Labrador,  the  Commissioner  who,  as 
Donald  A.  Smith,  soothed  the  Riel  rebellion,  and  for  years 
directed  the  reorganization  of  the  Company's  affairs  at  Fort 
Garry  and  the  whole  North -West,  the  daring  speculator  who 
took  hold,  with  his  friends,  of  the  Minnesota  and  Manitoba 
Railway,  and  with  Midas  touch  turned  the  enterprise  to  gold, 
a  projector  and  a  builder  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway, 
the  patron  of  art  and  education,  has  worthily  filled  the  office 


476  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

of  Governor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  with  much 
success  reorganized  its  administration  and  directed  its  affairs. 
The  Company's  operations  are  vaster  than  ever  before.  The 
greatest  mercantile  enterprise  of  the  Greater  Canada  west  of 
Lake  Superior  ;  a  strong  land  Company,  still  keeping  up  its 
traditions  and  conducting  a  large  trade  in  furs  ;  owning  vessels 
and  transportation  facilities  ;  able  to  take  large  contracts  ; 
exercising  a  fatherly  care  over  the  Indian  tribes  ;  the  helper 
and  assistant  of  the  vast  missionary  organizations  scattered 
over  Northern  Canada,  the  Company  since  the  transfer  of 
Rupert's  Land  to  Canada  has  taken  a  new  lease  of  life ;  its 
eye  is  not  dim,  nor  its  natural  force  abated. 


CHAPTER    XLVII. 

THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  CANADIAN  WEST. 

The  Greater  Canada — Wide  wheat  fields— Vast  pasture  lands — 
Huronian  mines — The  Kootenay  riches — Yukon  nuggets — 
Forests — Iron  and  coal — Fisheries — Two  great  cities — Towns  and 
villages — Anglo-Saxon  institutions — The  great  outlook. 

IN  1871,  soon  after  Rupert's  Land  and  the  Indian  territories 
were  transferred  to  Canada,  it  was  the  fortune  of  the  writer 
to  take  up  his  abode  in  Winnipeg,  as  the  village  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Fort  Garry  was  already  called.  The  railway  was 
in  that  year  still  four  hundred  miles  from  Winnipeg.  From 
the  terminus  in  Minnesota  the  stage  coach  drawn  by  four 
horses,  with  relays  every  twenty  miles,  sped  rapidly  over 
prairies  smooth  as  a  lawn  to  the  site  of  the  future  City  of  the 
Plains. 

The  fort  was  in  its  glory.  Its  stone  walls,  round  bastions, 
threatening  pieces  of  artillery  and  rows  of  portholes,  spoke  of 
a  place  of  some  strength,  though  even  then  a  portion  of  stone 
wall  had  been  taken  down  to  give  easier  access  to  the  "  Hud- 
son's Bay  Store."  It  was  still  the  seat  of  government,  for  the 
Canadian  Governor  lived  within  its  walls,  as  the  last  Company 
Governor,  McTavish,  had  done.  It  was  still  the  scene  of 
gaiety,  as  the  better  class  of  the  old  settlers  united  with  the 
leaders  of  the  new  Canadian  society  in  social  joys,  under  the 
hospitable  roof  of  Governor  Archibald. 

Since  that  time  forty  years  have  well-nigh  passed.  The 
stage  coach,  the  Red  River  cart,  and  the  shagganappe  pony  are 
things  of  the  past,  and  great  railways  with  richly  furnished 
trains  connect  St.  Paul  and  Minnesota  with  the  City  of 
Winnipeg.  More  important  still,  the  skill  of  the  engineer  has 
blasted  a  way  through  the  Archaean  rocks  to  Fort  William, 

477 


478  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Lake  Superior,  more  direct  than  the  old  fur-traders'  route ;  the 
tremendous  cliffs  of  the  north  shore  of  Lake  Superior  have 
been  levelled  and  the  chasm  bridged.  To  the  west  the  prairies 
have  been  gridironed  with  numerous  lines  of  railway,  the 
enormous  ascents  of  the  four  Rocky  Mountain  ranges  rising  a 
mile  above  the  sea  level  have  been  crossed,  and  the  giddy 
heights  of  the  Fraser  River  canon  traversed.  The  iron  band 
of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  one  of  whose  chief  promoters 
was  Lord  Strathcona  and  Mount  Royal,  the  present  Governor 
of  the  Company,  has  joined  ocean  to  ocean.  The  Canadian 
Northern  Railway  runs  its  line  from  Lake  Superior  through 
Winnipeg  and  Edmonton  to  British  Columbia.  It  has  in 
prospect  a  transcontinental  Railway  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  The  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  Railway  has  in 
operation  a  perfectly  built  line  from  Lake  Superior  through 
Winnipeg  and  Edmonton  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  with 
the  backing  of  the  Canadian  Government  guarantees  a  most 
complete  connection  between  the  eastern  and  western  shores 
of  the  continent. 

A  wonderful  transformation  has  taken  place  in  the  land  since 
the  days  of  Sir  George  Simpson  and  his  band  of  active  chief 
factors  and  traders.  It  is  true,  portions  of  the  wide  territory 
reaching  from  Labrador  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  will  always  be  the 
domain  of  the  fur-trader.  The  Labrador,  Ungava,  and  Arctic 
shores  of  Canada  will  always  remain  inhospitable,  but  the 
Archaean  region  on  the  south  and  west  of  Hudson  Bay 
undoubtedly  contains  great  mineral  treasures.  The  Canadian 
Government  pledges  itself  to  a  completed  railway  from  the 
prairie  wheat  fields  to  York  Factory  on  Hudson  Bay.  This 
will  bring  the  seaport  on  Hudson  Bay  as  near  Britain  as  is 
New  York,  and  will  make  an  enormous  saving  in  transporta- 
tion to  Western  Canada.  What  a  mighty  change  from  the 
day  when  the  pessimistic  French  King  spoke  of  all  Canada, 
as  "  only  a  few  orpents  of  snow."  Mackenzie  River  district  is 
still  the  famous  scene  of  the  fur  trade,  and  may  long  continue 
so,  though  there  is  always  the  possibility  of  any  portion  of  the 
vast  waste  of  the  Far  North  developing,  as  the  Yukon  territory 
has  done,  mineral  wealth  rivalling  the  famous  sands  of  Pactolus 
or  the  riches  of  King  Solomon's  mines. 


THE    FUTURE    OF    THE    CANADIAN    WEST     479 

Under  Canadian  sway,  law  and  order  are  preserved  through- 
out this  wide  domain,  although  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
officers  still  administer  law  and  in  many  cases  are  magistrates 
or  officers  for  the  Government,  receiving  their  commissions 
from  Ottawa.  Peace  and  order  prevail ;  the  arm  of  the  law 
has  been  felt  in  Keewatin,  the  Mackenzie  River,  and  distant 
Yukon. 

But  it  is  to  the  fertile  prairies  of  the  West  and  valleys  and 
slopes  of  the  Pacific  Coast  we  look  for  the  extension  of  the 
Greater  Canada.  While  the  Hon.  William  McDougall  was 
arguing  the  value  of  the  prairie  land  of  the  West,  his  Canadian 
and  other  opponents  maintained  ' '  that  in  the  North- West  the 
soil  never  thawed  out  in  summer,  and  that  the  potato  or  cab- 
bage would  not  mature/'  With  this  opinion  many  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  officers  agreed,  though  it  is  puzzling 
to  the  resident  of  the  prairie  to-day  to  see  how  such  honourable 
and  observing  men  could  have  made  such  statements.  The 
fertile  plains  have  been  divided  into  three  great  provinces, 
Manitoba  (1871),  Saskatchewan  and  Alberta  (1905).  Manitoba, 
which  at  the  time  of  the  closing  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
regime  numbered  some  12,000  or  15,000  whites  and  half-breeds 
and  as  many  more  Indians,  has  (in  1909)  a  population  of 
well-nigh  half  a  million — the  city  of  Winnipeg  itself  exceeding 
more  than  one  quarter  of  that  number.  Saskatchewan  and 
Alberta  probably  make  up  between  them  another  half  million 
of  people  in  tin's  prairie  section.  These  being  the  three  great 
bread -providing  provinces  of  the  Dominion,  produced  in  1909 
on  297,000,000  of  acres,  which  is  but  8  per  cent,  of  their  total 
arable  land,  of  wheat,  oats,  barley  and  flax,  132J  million 
dollars'  worth  of  cereals. 

The  City  of  Winnipeg,  which,  when  the  writer  first  saw  the 
hamlet  bearing  that  name,  had  less  than  three  hundred  souls, 
has  now  become  a  beautiful  city,  which  drew  forth  the 
admiration  of  the  whole  British  Association  on  the  occasion 
of  their  visit  to  it  in  1909.  Its  assessment  in  1910  was 
loT  '  millions  of  dollars,  and  the  amount  of  building  in  that  year 
reached  11,000,000  dollars.  The  city  has  under  construction 
at  Winnipeg  River,  fifty  miles  from  the  city,  60,000  horse- 
power of  electric  energy,  which  will  be  transmitted  by  cable 


480  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

to  the  city  in  1911  for  manufacturing  purposes.  Up  till  1882 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  store  was  a  low  building,  a  wooden 
erection  made  of  lumber  sawn  by  whip-saw  or  by  some  rude 
contrivance,  having  what  was  known  in  the  old  Red  River  days 
as  a  "  pavilion  roof/'  Its  highly-coloured  fabrics  suited  to  the 
trade  of  the  country  did  not  relieve  its  dingy  interior.  To-day 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  departmental  stores  and  offices, 
built  of  dark  red  St.  Louis  brick,  speak  of  the  enormous  pro- 
gress made  in  the  development  of  the  country.  The  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  store,  great  as  it  now  is,  has  been  equalled  and 
even  perhaps  surpassed  by  private  enterprises  of  great  magni- 
tude. Winnipeg,  as  being  from  its  geographical  position  half 
way  between  the  international  boundary  line  and  Lake  Winni- 
peg, is  the  natural  gateway  between  Eastern  and  Western 
Canada.  It  is  becoming  the  greatest  railway  centre  of  Canada, 
and  is  familiarly  spoken  of  as  the  "  Chicago  of  Western 
Canada."  It  bids  fair  also  to  be  a  great  manufacturing  centre. 
In  spite  of  its  recent  date  and  unfinished  facilities  for  power 
its  manufactured  output  has  grown  from  8f  millions  of  dollars 
in  1900  to  25,000,000  in  1910.  From  1902,  when  its  bank 
clearings  were  188J  millions  of  dollars,  these  grew  in  1909 
to  770f  millions.  All  this  is  not  surprising  when  the  mar- 
vellous immigration  and  consequent  development  is  shown 
by  the  railway  mileage  of  Western  Canada,  which  has  grown 
from  3,680  miles  in  1900  to  11,472  miles  in  1909  ;  and  when 
the  annual  product,  chiefly  of  cattle  and  horses,  reached  in  the 
latter  year  the  sum  of  175,000,000  of  dollars. 

British  Columbia,  including  the  New  Caledonia,  Kootenay 
Country,  and  Vancouver  Island  of  the  fur-traders,  is  a  land  of 
great  resources.  Its  population  has  increased  many  times 
over.  Its  great  salmon  fisheries,  trade  in  timber,  coal  mines, 
agricultural  productiveness,  and  genial  climate  have  long  made 
it  a  favourite  dwelling-place  for  English-speaking  colonists. 

In  late  years  much  prominence  has  been  given  to  this 
province  by  the  discovery  of  its  mineral  products.  Gold, 
silver,  and  lead  mines  in  the  Kootenay  region,  which  was 
discovered  by  old  David  Thompson,  and  in  the  Cariboo  district, 
have  lately  attracted  many  immigrants  to  British  Columbia  ; 
the  adjoining  territory  of  the  Yukon,  brought  to  the  knowledge 


THE   FUTURE    OF    THE    CANADIAN    WEST     481 

of  the  world  by  Chief  Factor  Robert  Campbell,  has  surpassed 
all  other  parts  of  the  fur-traders'  land  in  rich  productiveness, 
although  the  region  lying  between  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  and 
Lake  Superior,  along  the  very  route  of  the  fur-traders,  is 
becoming  famous  by  its  production  of  gold,  silver,  and  other 
valuable  metals. 

Throughout  the  wide  West  great  deposits  of  coal  and  iron  are 
found,  the  basis  of  future  manufactures,  and  in  many  districts 
great  forests  to  supply  to  the  world  material  for  increasing 
development. 

What,  then,  is  to  be  the  future  of  this  Canadian  West  ?  The 
possibilities  are  illimitable.  The  Anglo-Saxon  race,  with  its 
energy  and  pluck,  has  laid  hold  of  the  land  so  long  shut  in  by 
the  wall  built  round  it  by  the  fur -traders.  This  race,  with  its 
dominating  forcefulness,  will  absorb  and  harmonize  elements 
coming  from  all  parts  of  the  world  to  enjoy  the  fertile  fields 
and  mineral  treasures  of  a  land  whose  laws  are  just,  whose 
educational  policy  is  thorough  and  progressive,  whose  moral 
and  religious  aspirations  are  high  and  noble,  and  which  gives 
a  hearty  welcome  to  the  industrious  and  deserving  from  all 
lands. 

The  flow  of  population  to  the  Canadian  West  during  the 
first  decade  of  this  century  has  been  remarkable.  Not  only 
has  there  been  a  vast  British  immigration  of  the  best  kind,  but 
some  150,000  to  200,000  of  industrious  settlers  from  the 
continent  of  Europe  have  come  to  build  the  railways,  canals, 
and  public  works  of  the  country,  and  they  have  been  essential 
for  its  agricultural  development.  Several  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  the  best  settlers  have  come  from  the  United  States,  a 
large  proportion  of  them  being  returned  Canadians  or  the 
children  of  Canadians. 

On  the  shores  of  Burrard  Inlet  on  the  Pacific  Ocean  another 
place  of  great  importance  is  rising — Vancouver  City,  the 
terminus  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway.  Victoria,  begun, 
as  we  have  seen,  by  Chief  Factor  Douglas  as  the  chief  fort 
along  the  Pacific  Coast,  long  held  its  own  as  the  commercial 
as  well  as  the  political  capital  of  British  Columbia,  but  in  the 
meantime  Vancouver  has  surpassed  it  in  population,  if  not  in 
influence, 
i  i 


482  THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

All  goes  to  show  that  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was 
preserving  for  the  generations  to  come  a  most  valuable  heritage. 
The  leaders  of  opinion  in  Canada  have  frequently,  within  the 
last  five  years  of  the  century,  expressed  their  opinion  that  the 
second  generation  of  the  twentieth  century  may  see  a  larger 
Canadian  population  to  the  West  of  Lake  Superior  than  will 
be  found  in  the  provinces  of  the  East.  William  Cullen  Bryant's 
lines,  spoken  of  other  prairies,  will  surely  come  true  of  the  wide 
Canadian  plains  : — 

"  I  listen  long 
....  and  think  I  hear 
The  sound  of  that  advancing  multitude 
Which  soon  shall  fill  these  deserts.     From  the  ground 
Comes  up  the  laugh  of  children,  the  soft  voice 
Of  maidens,  and  the  sweet  and  solemn  hymn 
Of  Sabbath  worshippers.     The  low  of  herds 
Blends  with  the  rustling  of  the  heavy  grain 
Over  the  dark  brown  furrows." 

The  French  explorers  are  a  reminiscence  of  a  century  and  a 
half  ago  ;  the  lords  of  the  lakes  and  forests,  with  all  their  wild 
energy,  are  gone  for  ever  ;  the  Astorians  are  no  more  ;  no 
longer  do  the  French  Canadian  voyageurs  make  the  rivers 
vocal  with  their  chansons  ;  the  pomp  and  circumstance  of 
the  emperor  of  the  fur-traders  has  been  resolved  into  the 
ordinary  forms  of  commercial  life  ;  and  the  rude  barter  of  the 
early  trader  has  passed  into  the  fulfilment  of  the  poet's  dream, 
of  the  ' '  argosies  of  magic  sails,"  and  the  ' '  costly  bales  " 
of  an  increasing  commerce.  The  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
still  lives  and  takes  its  new  place  as  one  of  the  potent  forces 
of  the  Canadian  West. 


APPENDIX   A. 

AUTHORITIES    AND    REFERENCES. 

(Chapters  I.— VI.) 

Voyages  among  the  North  American  Indians,  1652-84  (Prince 
Society). 

Histoire  de  1'Amerique  Septentrionale,  1772,  by  M.  Bacque- 
ville  de  la  Potherie. 

M.  Jeremie. 

The  British  Empire  in  America,  2  vols.  London,  1708.  Anon. 
(John  Oldmixon.) 

Minutes  and  Stock  Book  of  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  House,  Lime  Street,  London. 

Imperial  (Hudson's  Bay  Company)  Blue  Book,  1749. 

Memo,  of  Chief  Justice  Draper.     Imperial  Blue  Book,  1857. 

Imperial  Hudson's  Bay  Company  Blue  Book,  1857.  Appen- 
dix 9. 

Stock  Book  of  Hudson's  Bay  Company  Offices,  Lime  Street, 
London. 

Documents,  &c.,  on  Boundaries.  (Ottawa,  1871.)  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  Statement  of  Rights,  1850. 

Documents,  &c.,  on  Boundaries.     (Ottawa,  1871.) 

Documents  of  Early  French  Settlements. 

The  materials  for  Chapters  III.  and  IV.  are  almost  exclusively 
obtained  from  the  unpublished  minutes  of  the  Company, 
1671-1690,  at  Hudson's  Bay  Company  House,  Lime  Street, 
London. 

The  material  of  Chapter  V.  is  largely  from  the  minutes  and 
letter-books  of  the  Company  at  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany's House,  Lime  Street,  London.  The  complete  story 
of  Radisson's  life  is  now  for  the  first  time  given  to  the 
world  by  the  Author. 

Instructions  to  Sieur  de  Troyes.  Documents,  &c.  Ottawa, 
1871. 

N.Y.  Hist.  Collection.     Vol.  IX.,  p.  67. 

Massachusetts  Archives,  Boston.     French  Documents. 

Hist,  de  la  Nouvelle  France,  par  Marc  L'Escarbot  (1618). 

483 


484  APPENDIX   A. 

Minutes  of  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  Liine  Street,  London. 
Bacqueville  de  la  Potherie.     Histoire  jde  1'Amerique  Septen- 

trionale. 

Histoire  du  Canada,  par  F.  X.  Garneau. 
Letter-books  of  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  Lime  Street,  London. 

(Chapters  VII.— X.) 

Extracts  from  Treaty  of  Ryswick  in  Documents  on  Boundary. 

Ottawa,  1873. 

Minutes  and  Letter-book  of  Hudson's  Bay  Company.     (Lon- 
don.) 
Extracts  from  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  in  Documents,   &c.,  on 

Boundary.     (Ottawa.)   1873. 

Letter-books  of  Hudson's  Bay  Company.     (London.) 
Account  of  the  Countries  adjoining  Hudson  Bay,  by  Arthur 

Dobbs,  Esq.     London,  1744. 
Discovery  of  the  N.-W.  Passage.     (Several  authors.     Ottawa 

Parliamentary  Library.) 
Middleton.     Reply  to  Arthur  Dobbs,  1 744. 
John  Barrow — Voyages. 
A  Voyage  to  Hudson  Bay  by  the  Dobbs  galley  and  California, 

by  Henry  Ellis,  Gentleman.     London,  1748. 
Six  Years'  Residence  in  Hudson  Bay,  by  Joseph  Robson,  late 

Surveyor,  &c.     London,  1759. 
Imperial    Blue   Book   of  Imperial    Parliament    relating    to 

Hudson's  Bay  Company.     1749. 
N.  Y.  Hist.  Coll.,  Vol.  IX.  pp.  205,  209. 
Archives  de  Paris,  2nd  series,  vol.  IV.  p.  263. 
Canadian  Archives.     Ottawa. 
Manuscripts    Canadian    Parl.    Lib.    (Ottawa.     Third    series, 

vol.  6.) 

Pierre  Margry  in  Paris,  Moniteur  of  1852. 
Journal  of  Verendrye   (original),   1738,  Canadian  Archives. 

(Ottawa.) 
De  Bougainville's  Memoir,  given  in  Pierre  Margry 's  Relations, 

&c.     (Paris.)     1867. 
"  Memoirs  and  Documents,  &c."  from  Library,  Paris.     Five 

Volumes  by  Pierre  Margry. 

(Chapters  XL— XIII.) 
Canadiens  de  1'Ouest.     Joseph  Tasse,   2   vols.     (Montreal.) 

1878. 

Papers  of  Governor  Haldimand.  Canadian  Archives.  (Ottawa.) 
Astoria.     Washington  Irving. 

Sketches  of  N.W.  of  America.      Bishop  Tache.     (Montreal.) 
1870. 


APPENDIX   A.  485 

Travels   and   Adventures,    &c.,    between    1760-1766.     Alex. 

Henry,  Senr.,   1809. 

Alexander  Mackenzie's  Voyages.     London,  1801. 
Memorial  of  North- West  Traders.  Canadian  Archives.     (Otta- 
wa.)    (Original.) 
Les  Bourgeois  du  Nord-Ouest,  par  L.  R.  Masson.     2  vols., 

Quebec,  1889-90. 
A  Journey  from  Prince  of  Wales  Fort,  in  Hudson  Bay,  to  the 

Northern    Ocean,    by    Samuel    Hearne.     4to.    London  : 

Strahan  and  Cadell,   1795. 
Voyage  de  la  Perouse  autour  du  Monde.     4  vols.  8vo.     Paris, 

1798. 
The  Present  State  of  Hudson  Bay,  by  Edward  Umfreville. 

Charles    Stalker.     London,    1796. 
Observations  on  Hudson  Bay,  by  Andrew  Graham,  Factor. 

Presented    to    James    Fitzgerald.    (Manuscript,    1771.) 

Hudson's  Bay  Company  House,  London. 

(Chapters  XIV.— XXII.) 

Voyages  of  Alexander  Mackenzie.     (History  of  Fur  Trade.) 

London,  1801.     8vo. 

Haldimand  Papers.     Archives  Dept.  Ottawa.     (Unpublished.) 
Umfreville.     (Supra.) 

Masson's  Bourgeois  du  Nord-Ouest.     (Supra.) 
Journal  of  Alexander  Henry.     Manuscript.  (Ottawa  Library.) 
Journals  of  Alexander  Henry  and  of  David  Thompson,  by 

Elliott  Coues.     3  vols.    F.  P.  Harper.     New  York,  1897. 
The  Columbia  River,  by  Ross  Cox.   2  vols.     London :    H. 

Colbren  and  N.  Bentley,  1832. 
Simon  Fraser's  Journal,  1808.     Masson.     (Supra.) 
Voyage,  1811-14,  by  Gabriel  Franchere.     (Translation,  New 

York,  1854.) 

Roderick  McKenzie's  Reminiscences.     Masson.     (Supra.) 
James  McKenzie.     George  Keith.     John  McDonald  of  Garth. 

Masson.     (Supra.) 

Journal,  1820,  by  Daniel  Harmon.     Andover. 
Letters  of  John  Pritchard.     Edited  by  Writer,  published  in 

Winnipeg. 

Charles  McKenzie's  Journeys.     Masson.     (Supra.) 
Malhiot's    Journeys.     Masson.     (Supra.) 
Trader  John  Johnston,  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie.     Masson.  (Supra.) 
Duncan  Cameron  and  Peter  Grant.     (Masson.) 
Astoria,  by  Washington  Irving. 
Ross  Cox.     (Supra.) 

The  Columbia  River,  by  Alex.  Ross,  1849. 
Journal  of  Gabriel  Franchere.     (Supra.) 


486  APPENDIX   A. 

(Chapters  XXIII.— XXVIII.) 

(Selkirk  Literature.) 

Highland  Emigration,  by  Lord  Selkirk  (1805). 

Highland  Clearances.     Pamphlets,  Advocates'  Library,  Edin- 
burgh. 

Red  River  Settlement,  by  Alex.  Ross.     London  :  Smith,  Elder 
&  Co. 

Narrative  of  Destruction,  &c.     Archibald  Macdonald,  London, 
1816. 

Narrative  of  Occurrences  in  N.A.     Anon.,  London,  1817. 

Lord  Selkirk's  Settlement  in  N.A.     Anon.,  London,  1817. 

Blue-book  on  Red  River  Settlement  of  Imperial  House  of 
Commons,  1819. 

Report  of  Canadian  Trials,  &c.     A.  Amos,  London,  1820. 
Do.  Do.  Anon.,  Montreal. 

Memorial  to  Duke  of  Richmond.     Earl  of  Selkirk,  Montreal. 

Canadiens  de  1'Ouest,  by  Joseph  Tasse. 

Diary  of  John  McLeod,  in  Prov.  Library,  Winnipeg.     (Un- 
published.) 

Manitoba,  by  the  Writer.     London,  1882. 


(Chapters  XXIX.— XXXI.) 

Minutes  of  Council  Meetings  in  Norway  House,  in  Hudson's 

Bay  House,  London,  and  in  Toronto.     (Unpublished.) 
Journey  Round  the  World,  by  Governor  Simpson,  1847. 
"  Peace  River,"   by  Archibald  Macdonald.     Annotated   by 

Malcolm  McLeod,  Ottawa. 

Peter  Fidler's  Will.     Copy  in  possession  of  Writer. 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  Land  Tenures,  by  Mr.  Justice  Martin, 

Victoria,  B.C. 

Journal  of  John  McLeod.     Parl.  Library,  Winnipeg.     (Supra.) 
Wentzel's  Journal.     F.   Masson.     (Supra.)  4 

Journal  of  John  Finlay.     Manuscript,  unpublished,  property 

of  Chief  Factor  MacDougall,  Prince  Albert,  N.-W.T. 
Collection  of  100  letters  from  many  fur  traders  to  Chief  Factor 

James  Hargrave.     Curwen,  Edinburgh.     (Unpublished.) 
The  Shoe  and  Canoe.     London,  1850.     Dr.  J.  Bigsby. 
Gabriel  Franchere.     (Supra.) 
Picturesque   Canada.     Toronto. 
Collection  of  letters  in  possession  of  Judge  Ermatinger,  St. 

Thomas,  Ont. 

Letter  of  Judge  Steere.     Sault  Ste.  Marie. 
Songs  of  Dominion,  by  W.  D.  Lighthall.     London,  1889. 


APPENDIX    A.  487 

(Chapters  XXXII.— XXXVI.) 

Journey  to  Polar  Sea,  1819-22,  by  John  Franklin.     London, 

1823. 

Second  Journey,  1825-7.     London,  1823. 
Arctic  Expedition,  1829,  by  John  and  James  Ross. 
Arctic  Land  Expedition,  by  George  Back,  1836. 
Arctic  Searching  Expedition.     2  vols.,  1851. 
Expedition  to  Shores  of  Arctic  Sea,  by  John  Rae,  1850. 
Arctic  Voyages  (several  authors,  Parl.  Library,  Ottawa). 
Travels,  by  Lewis  and  Clark,  3  vols.     London,  1815. 
Travels  on  the  Western  Territories,  1805-7,  by  Zebulon  M. 

Pike. 

Keating  (and  Long)'s  Expedition,  2  vols.,  1825. 
J.  C.  Beltrami.     Pilgrimage  of  Discovery  of  Sources  of  Missis- 
sippi.    London,    1828. 
Brewer  (Cass  and  Schoolcraft),  Sources  of  the  Mississippi, 

published  by  Minn.  Historical  Society. 
J.  H.  Lefroy.     Magnetic  Survey. 
Journal  of  Explorations,  by  Palliser  (and  Hector).     London, 

1863. 
Narrative  of  the  Canadian  Exploring  Expedition,  by  Hind  (and 

Dawson),  2  vols.,  1860. 
The  North-West  Passage  by  Land,  by  Milton  and  Cheadle. 

London,  1865. 

Ocean  to  Ocean,  by  G.  M.  Grant,  1873. 
Red  River,  by  Alex.  Ross.     London,  1856. 
Captain  Bulger's  letters,  published  for  private  circulation, 

1823. 

Notes  on  the  Flood  of  Red  River  of  1852,  by  Bishop  Anderson. 
Red  River.     J.  J.  Hargrave,  Montreal,  1871. 
Parchment  Roll,  property  of  late  George  McTavish,  Winnipeg. 
Journal  of  the  Red  River  Country,  by  the  Rev.  John  West. 

London,  1824. 

(Chapters  XXXVIL,  XXXVIII.) 

Hudson  Bay,  by  R.  M.  Ballantyne.     London,  1848. 

Dr.  Rae.     (Supra.) 

Notes  on  25  Years  of  Service,  by  John  McLean.  2  vols.  London, 

1849. 

Ungava  Bay,  by  R.  M.  Ballantyne.     London,  1871. 
Explorations  in  Labrador,  by  H.  Y.  Hind,  1863. 
Moravian  Missions. 
The  important  Chapter  XXXVIII.  was  largely  prepared  by  a 

Chief  Factor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  who  had  long 

served  on  the  Mackenzie  River. 


488  APPENDIX   A. 

Chief  Factor  Campbell's  discoveries  were  chiefly  obtained 
from  a  journal  of  that  officer  now  in  the  hands  of  his  son, 
at  Norway  House. 

(Chapters  XXXIX.— XLVII.) 

Bancroft's  North-West  Coast,  2  vols.     San  Francisco,  1884. 

„         History  of  British  Columbia,  1890. 
Begg's  History  of  British  Columbia. 
Journal  of  Trader  Ermatinger,  property  of  Judge  Ermatinger, 

St.  Thomas,  Ont. 

Chinook  Jargon,  by  Horatio  Hall.     London,  1890. 
Todd,  collection  of  letters  belonging  to  Judge  Ermatinger. 

(Supra.) 

Coues,  Alex.  Henry.     (Supra.) 
Miles  Macdonell's  letters.     Archives  vol.     Ottawa. 
Vingt  Annees  de  Missions,  &c.,  by  Bishop  Tache,  1888. 
Rainbow  of  the  North,  by  A.L.O.E.  (Miss  Tucker). 
Notes  by  Rev.  John  West.     (Supra.) 
Red  River,  by  Hargrave.     (Supra.) 
Journey  of  Bishop  of  Montreal,  1844.     Pub.  1849. 
Red  River  Settlement,  by  Alex.  Ross.     (Supra.) 
John  Black,  Apostle  of  Red  River,  by  the  Writer,  1898. 
Hudson  Bay,  by  Rev.  John  Ryerson.     Toronto,  1855. 
James  Evans.     Wm.  Briggs,  Toronto. 
Cree  Syllabic. 

History  of  British  Columbia.     (Supra.) 
Hudson's   Bay   Territories,    &c.,   by   R.   M.    Fitzgerald   and 

Martin.     London,     1849. 
Indian  Tribes.     "  Canada." — An  Encyclopedia.     Article  by 

Writer. 

Bancroft's  Tribes  of  the  Pacific  Coast. 
Imperial  Government  Blue-books,  1849-51. 
History  of  Manitoba,  by  Donald  Gunn.     Ottawa,  1880. 
Imperial  Blue-book  of  1857. 

Canada  and  the  States,  by  Sir  E.  W.  Watkin,  London. 
Blue-books  of  Canada. 
Ermatinger  letters.     (Supra.) 
Begg's  Creation  of  Manitoba.     Toronto,  1871. 
Report  of  Donald  A.  Smith.     Canadian  Blue-book  of  1871. 
Boulton's  Reminiscences  of  the  North- West  Rebellion,   by 

Major  Boulton,  1886. 

Red  River  Troubles.     Report  of  Canadian  House  of  Commons. 
Facts  and  figures,  from  Hudson's  Bay  Company  Offices. 


APPENDIX    B. 

SUMMARY  OF  LIFE  OF  PIERRE  ESPRIT  RADISSON. 

A.  EARLIER  LIFE  AND  VOYAGES  (1636 — 1663). 

I.  Birth  and  Immigration. 

Pierre  Esprit  Radisson,  born  in  Paris   (afterwards 

lived  at  St.  Malo) 1636 

(Though  some  claim  that  he  was  born  in  1620, 
this  is  incorrect,  for  in  his  petition  read  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  London,  March  llth,  1698, 
he  states  that  he  is  sixty-two  years  of  age.) 
Arrived  with  his  father's  family  in  Canada,  May      .         1651 
(Settled  at  Three  Rivers.) 

II.   Western  Voyages. 

First  voyage  to  the  Iroquois  country         .         .         .  1652 
(Captured  by  the  Iroquois.) 

Escaped  and  fled  to  Holland 1653 

Returned  to  Canada          ......  1654 

Second  voyage  to  Onondaga 1657 

Third  voyage,  visited  Sioux  and  Assiniboines  through 

the  Mississippi  country       .....  1658-60 

Returned  to  Montreal  with  500  Indians   .         .         .  1660 

Fourth  voyage,  to  region  north  of  Lake  Superior     .  1661 

Held  great  council  with  the  Indians          .         .         .  1662 
Leaves   the  country  of  the   Crees   and  returns   to 

Montreal 1663 

III.  In  English  Service. 

Quarrels  with  French  Governor.  Goes  to  Boston  from 

Quebec 1664 

Crosses  to  England 1665 

Vessel  engaged  to  go  to  Hudson  Bay  delayed  .  1666 

Disturbed  condition  of  England  causes  further  delay  .  1667 

489 


490  APPENDIX   B. 

Eaglet,  on  which  Radisson  embarked,  did  not  reach 
Hudson   Bay  ;    Nonsuch,   with   Groseilliers  on 

board,  did 1668 

Nonsuch  returns  to  England 1669 

Hudson's  Bay  Company  chartered  through  assistance 

of  Groseilliers  and  Radisson       ....  1670 

Radisson  first  visits  Hudson  Bay      ....  1670 

Radisson  returns  and  winters  in  London  .         .  1671 

Radisson,  with  Captain  Gillam,  goes  to  Hudson  Bay  .  1672 

Returns  to  London  and  winters  there        .         .         .  1673 

IV.  Enters  French  Service. 

Radisson  and  Groseilliers  desert  England  for  France, 

October      .         . 1674 

Radisson  goes  on  expedition  to  the  Antilles 
Crosses  under  French  auspices  to  Canada         .         .         1681 
Goes  to  Hudson  Bay  on  French  ship         .         .         .         1682 
Winters  in  Hudson  Bay,  captures  Gillam's  ship,  and 

returns  to  Canada 1683 

Crosses  to  France,  and  undertakes  new  expedition  to 

Hudson  Bay 1684 

V.  Deserts  France  and  returns  to  England. 

Radisson  joins  English,  and  goes  immediately  to 

Hudson  Bay,  May  12th 1684 

Seizes  20,000  furs  from  French  and  comes  to  London  .  1684  ' 

Sails  again  to  Hudson  Bay 1685 

VI.  Further  History. 

Made  a  denizen  of  England 1687 

Sails  for  Hudson  Bay 1688 

Receives  share  of  the  great  dividend        .         .         .  1690 
Sir  John  Young  applies  for  increase  of  Radisson's 

allowance 1692 

Radisson  files  a  bill  in  Chancery  against  Company    .  1694 

„        petitions  Parliament  for  consideration       .  1698 

„        applies  to  Company  for  position        .         .  1700 
,,        receives    last    allowance    from    Company 

(probably  his  death)  .         .         .         .  1710 


APPENDIX    C. 


LIST  OF  HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY  POSTS  IN  1856,  WITH  THE 
SEVERAL  DISTRICTS  AND  THE  NUMBER  OF  INDIANS  IN  EACH. 


Athabasca  District 

(1,550)— 
Fort  Chipewyan. 
Dun  vegan. 
Vermilion. 
Fond  du  Lac. 

Mackenzie  River  District 

(10,430)— 
Fort  Simpson. 
Fort  au  Liard. 
Fort  Halkett. 
Yukon. 
Peel's  River. 
Lapierre's  House. 
Fort  Good  Hope. 
Fort  Rae. 
Fort  Resolution. 
Big  Island. 
Fort  Norman. 

English    River    District 

(1,370)— 
He  a  la  Crosse. 
Rapid  River. 
Green  Lake. 
Deer's  Lake. 
Portage  la  Loche. 

Saskatchewan       District 

(28,050)— 
Edmonton. 
Carlton. 
Fort  Pitt. 

Rocky  Mount  House. 
Lac   la   Biche. 
Lesser  Slave  Lake. 
Fort  Assiniboine. 
Jasper's  House. 
Fort  a  la  Come. 

Cumberland          District 

(750)— 
Cumberland  House 


Moose  Lake. 
The  Paa. 

Swan    River    District 

(2,200)— 
Fort  Pelly. 
Fort  Ellice. 
Qu'Appelle  Lakes. 
Shoal  River. 
Touchwood  Hills. 
Egg  Lake. 

Red  River  District  (8,250, 
including     half- 
fa  reeds      and 
whites) — 

Fort  Garry. 

Lower  Fort  Garry. 

White    House    Plain. 

Pembina. 

Manitoba. 

Reed  Lake. 

Lac    la    Pluie    District 
(2,850)— 

Fort  Frances. 

Fort  Alexander. 

Rat  Portage. 

White  Dog. 

Lac  du  Bonnet. 

Lac  de  Boisblanc. 

Shoal  Lake. 

Norway   House   District 
(1,080)— 

Norway  House. 

Berens  River. 

Nelson  River. 
York   District  (1,500)— 

York  Factory. 

Churchill. 

Severn. 

Trout  Lake. 

Oxford  House. 
491 


Albany  District  ( 1, 100)— 
Albany  Factory. 
Marten's  Falls. 
Osnaburg. 
Lac  Seul. 

Kinogumissee       District 

(400)— 

Metawagamingue. 
Kuckatoosh. 

Lake    Superior    District 
(1,330)— 

Michipicoten. 

Batchewana. 

Mamainse. 

Pic. 

Long  Lake. 

Lake  Nipigon. 

Fort  William. 

Pigeon  River. 

Lac  d'Orignal. 
Lake    Huron    District 
(1,100)— 

Lacloche. 

Little  Current. 

Mississangie. 

Green  Lake. 

Whitefish  Lake. 
Sault  Ste.  Marie  District 
(150)- 

Sault  Ste.  Marie. 
Moose    District    (730)— 

Moose  Factory. 

Hannah  Bay. 

Abitibi. 

New  Brunswick. 
East  Main  District 
(700)- 

Great    Whale    River. 

Little    Whale    River. 

Fort  George. 


492 


APPENDIX   C. 


Rupert's   River    District 

(985)— 

Rupert's  House. 
Mistasini. 
Teniskamay. 
Waswonaby. 
Mechiskan. 
Pike  Lake. 
Nitchequon. 
Kaniapiscow. 

Temiscamingue    District 

(1,030)— 
Temiscamingue 
Grand  Lac.      [House. 
Kakabeagino. 
Lake  Nipissing. 
Hunter's  Lodge. 
Temagamingue. 

Fort    Coulonge    District 

(375)— 

Lac  des  Allumettes. 
Joachin. 
Matawa. 

Lac  des  Sables  District 
(150)— 

Buckingham. 

Riviere  Desert. 
Lachine   District — 

Lachine  House. 

St.    Maurice    District 

(280)— 
Three  Rivers. 
Weymontachingue. 
Kikandatch. 

King's     Posts     District 

(1,100)— 
Tadousac. 
Chicoutime. 
Lake  St.  John's. 


He  Jere"mie. 
Godbout. 
Sepen  Islands. 

Mingan  District  (700)— 
Mingan. 
Musquarro. 
Natosquan. 

Esquimaux  Bay  District 

(500)— 

North- West  River. 
Fort  Nascopie. 
Rigolette. 
Kikokok. 

Columbia  District 
(2,200)— 

Fort  Vancouver. 

Umpqua. 

Cape     Disappoint- 
ment. 

Chinook  Point. 

Carveeman. 

Champoeg. 

Nisqually. 

Cowelitz. 

Colville  District 

(2,500)— 
Fort  Colville. 
Pend  Oreilles  River. 
Flat  Heads. 
Kootenay. 
Okanagan. 

Snake   Country   District 

(700)— 
Walla  Walla. 
Fort  Hall. 
Fort  Boise. 

Vancouver    Island    Dis- 
trict (12,000)— 
Fort  Victoria. 


Fort  Rupert. 
Nanaimo. 

Fraser     River     District 

(4,000)— 
Fort  Langley. 

N.  W.      Coast      District 

(45,000)— 
Fort  Simpson. 

Thomson  River  District 

(2,000)— 
Kamloops. 
Fort  Hope. 

New  Caledonia  District 

(12,000)— 
Stuart  Lake. 
McLeod's  Lake. 
Fraser's  Lake. 
Alexandria. 
Fort  George. 
Babines. 
Conolly's  Lake. 
Honolulu     (Sandwich 
Isles). 

Total,    34     Districts  :— 
Indians         .    149,060 
Not  enumer- 
ated         .        6,000 
Eskimos       .        4,000 


Total        .    159,060 

Less  whites 
and  half- 
breeds  .  10,000 

149,060 

In  'all  under  Hud- 
son's Bay  Com- 
pany rule,  about 
150,000. 


APPENDIX    D. 

LIST  OF  CHIEF  FACTORS  IN  THE  HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY 
SERVICE  FROM  THE  COALITION  OF  1821  TO  THE  YEAR  1896. 


NOTE.— Under  the  Deed  Polls  of  1821,  1834,  and  1871, 
there  were  263  commissioned  officers,  and  it  is  estimated 
that  their  nationalities  were  as  follows  : — 


French  Canadian 
Irish 

English     , 
Scotch 


11 

22 

59 

171 


263 


1821. 

Thomas  Vincent. 
John  MacDonald. 
John  Thompson. 
James  Bird. 
James  Leith. 
John  Haldane. 
Colin  Robertson. 
Alexander  Stewart. 
James  Sutherland. 
John  George  McTavish 
John  Clarke. 
George  Keith. 
John  Dugald  Cameron. 
John  Charles. 
John  Stuart. 
Alexander  Kennedy. 
Edward  Smith. 
John  M'Loughlin. 
John  Davis. 
James  Keith. 
Joseph  Beioly. 
Angus  Bethune. 
Donald  McKenzie. 
Alexander  Christie. 
John  McBean. 


1823. 
William  Mclntosh. 

1825. 

William  Conolly. 
John  Rowand. 

1827. 
James    McMillan. 

1828. 

Allan  McDonnell. 
John  Lee  Lewis. 
Peter  Warren  Dease. 

1830. 

Roderick  McKenzie, 
Senr. 

1832. 
Duncan  Finlayson. 

1834. 
Peter  S.  Ogden. 

1836. 

John  P.  Pruden. 
Alex.  McLeod. 

493 


1838. 

John  Faries. 
Angus  Cameron. 
Samuel  Black. 

1840. 

James  Douglas. 
Donald  Ross. 

1842. 
Archibald  McDonald. 

1844. 

Robert  S.  Miles. 
James  Hargrave. 

1845. 
Nicol  Finlayson. 

1846. 

John  E.  Harriott. 
John  Work. 
John  Sieveright. 

1847. 

Murdo  McPherson. 
George  Barnston. 

1848. 
John  Ballenden. 


494 


APPENDIX   D. 


1850. 

1866.                                   1879. 

John  Rae. 

William  McMurray.           Colin  Rankin. 

William  Sinclair. 

Archibald  McDonald. 

1851. 
Hector  McKenzie. 
William  McTavish. 
Dugald  McTavish. 

1867.                   Samuel  K.  Parson. 
Robert  Campbell.              James  H.  Lawson  (Fac. 
Robert  Hamilton.                 tor). 
1868                    Ewen  MacDonald  (Fac- 

1854. 
Edward  H.  Hopkins. 

William  L.  Hardisty.        T  tor)' 
Joseph  W.WU-7       J0^efJT^rTe 

John  Swanston. 

1869.                                    1883. 

John  McKenzie. 

James  G.  Stewart.           James  L.  Cotter. 

1855. 

1872                                     1884. 

James  Anderson.  (A). 

James  Bissett.'                   Julian  S-  Camsell. 

1856. 

George  S.  McTavish.                         1885. 

William  McNeill. 

Richard  Hardisty.             Horace   Belanger. 

William  F.  Tolmie. 

1873.                                   1886. 

1859. 

Robert  Crawford  (Fac-    William  H.  Adams  (Fac- 

James Anderson.     (B). 

tor),                                    tor). 

Roderick  Finlayson. 

William  H.  Watt  (Fac-                   1887. 

1  Q£!A 

tor).                                James  McDougall. 

low. 
William  J.  Christie. 
Charles  Dodd. 

John   Maclntyre    (Fac-                   1888. 
tor).                                Peter  McKenzie. 

1874.                   E.    K.    Beeston    (Chief 

1861. 

William  Charles.                    Trader). 

John  M.  Simpson. 

John  H.  McTavish.                          1892 

James  A.  Grahame. 

Alexander  Munro.              William  Clark. 

1862. 

1875.                    W.     S.     Becher     (Chief 

James  R.  Clare. 

Lawrence  Clarke.                   Trader). 

Wemyss  M.  Simpson. 

R.    MacFarlane.                                jg93. 

Donald  A.  Smith. 

Roderick  Ross  (Factor).    William  K.  Broughton. 

1864. 

1879.                                   1896. 

James  S.  Clouston. 

Peter  Warren  Bell.           Alexander        Matheson 

Joseph  Gladman. 

Joseph  Fortescue.                  (Factor). 

APPENDIX    E. 

RUSSIAN    AMERICA    (ALASKA). 

IN  1825  Great  Britain  made  a  treaty  with  Russia  as  to  the 
north-west  coast  of  America.  The  boundary  line  that  has 
since  been  a  subject  of  much  dispute  with  the  United  States, 
which  bought  out  the  rights  of  Russia,  was  thus  laid  down  in 
the  Treaty  :— 

III.  *'  The  line  of  demarcation  between  the  possessions  of 
the  high  contracting  parties,  upon  the  coast  of  the  Continent 
and  the  islands  of  America  to  the  north-west,  shall  be  drawn 
in  the  manner  following  : — Commencing  from  the  southern- 
most point  of  the  island  called  Prince  of  Wales's  Island,  which 
point  lies  in  the  parallel  of  54  degrees  40  minutes,  north 
latitude,  and  between  the  131st  and  133rd  degree  of  west 
longitude  (meridian  of  Greenwich)  ;   the  said  line  shall  ascend 
to  the  north  along  the  channel  called  Portland  Channel,  as  far 
as  the  point  of  the  Continent  where  it  strikes  the  56th  degree 
of  north  latitude  ;   from  this  last -mentioned  point  the  line  of 
demarcation  shall  follow  the  summits  of  the  mountains  situated 
parallel  to  the  coast,  as  far  as  the  point  of  intersection  of 
the  141st  degree  of  west  longitude  (of  the  same  meridian)  ; 
and   finally,   from  the  said  point  of  intersection,   the  said 
meridian  line  of  the  141st  degree  in  its  prolongation  as  far  as 
the  Frozen  Ocean,  shall  form  the  limit  between  the  Russian 
and  British  possessions  on  the  Continent  of  America  to  the 
north-west. 

IV.  "  With  reference  to  the  line  of  demarcation  laid  down 
in  the  preceding  article,  it  is  understood  : — 

1st.  "  That  the  island  called  Prince  of  Wales's  Island  shall 
belong  wholly  to  Russia. 

2nd.  "  That  wherever  the  summit  of  the  mountains  which 
extend  in  a  direction  parallel  to  the  coast,  from  the  56th 
degree  of  north  latitude  to  the  point  of  intersection  of  the 
141st  degree  of  west  longitude,  shall  prove  to  be  at  the 
distance  of  more  than  ten  marine  leagues  from  the  ocean,  the 
limit  between  the  British  possessions  and  the  line  of  coast 
which  is  to  belong  to  Russia,  as  above  mentioned,  shall  be 

495 


496  APPENDIX   E. 

formed  by  a  line  parallel  to  the  windings  of  the  coast,  and 
which  shall  never  exceed  the  distance  of  ten  marine  leagues 
therefrom/' 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  in  the  year  following  the 
Treaty,  pushed  their  posts  to  the  interior,  and  obtained  a  hold 
on  the  Indians  from  the  coast  inward.  Making  use  of  their 
privilege  of  ascending  the  river  from  the  coast,  they  under- 
took to  erect  a  post  upon  one  of  these  rivers.  This  led  the 
Russian  American  Fur  Company  to  make  a  vigorous  protest, 
and  a  long  correspondence  ensued  on  the  matter.  At  length, 
in  1839,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  chiefly  in  order  to  gain 
access  to  their  Indians  of  the  interior,  leased  the  strip  of 
coast  territory  from  Fort  Simpson  to  Cross  Sound  for  a  period 
of  ten  years.  The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  agreement 
made  February  6th,  1839,  between  the  Hudson's  Bay  and 
Russian  American  Fur  Companies  : — 

"  The  Russian  Fur  Company  cede  to  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  for  a  period  of  ten  years,  commencing  June  1st, 
1840,  the  coast  (exclusive  of  the  islands)  and  the  interior 
country  situated  between  Cape  Spencer  and  latitude  54°  40' 
or  thereabouts  for  an  annual  rental  of  two  thousand  seasoned 
otters. 

"  The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  agree  to  sell  to  the  Russian 
Fur  Company  2,000  otters  taken  on  the  west  side  of  the 
mountains  at  the  price  of  23s.  sterling  per  skin,  and  3,000 
seasoned  otters  taken  on  the  east  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains 
at  32s.  sterling  per  skin.  '  9  Hudson's  Bay  Company  agree 
to  sell  to  the  Russian  Fur  Company  2,000  ferragoes  (120  Ibs. 
each)  of  wheat  annually  for  a  term  of  ten  years,  at  the  price 
of  10s.  Qd.  sterling  per  ferrago,  also  flour,  peas,  barley,  salted 
beef,  butter,  and  pork  hams  at  fixed  prices,  under  certain  pro- 
visions. 

' '  The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  relinquish  the  claim  preferred 
by  them  for  damages  sustained  by  them,  arising  from  the 
obstruction  presented  by  the  Russian  authorities  to  an  expedi- 
tion fitted  out  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  for  entering  the 
Stikine  River." 

The  agreement  was  continued  after  the  expiration  of  ten 
years,  but  the  rental  fine  changed  from  a  supply  of  otters  to  a 
money  payment  of  1,500/.  a  year.  The  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany, as  we  have  seen,  pushed  their  posts  down  the  Yukon 
River,  and  only  withdrew  them  after  Alaska,  in  1867,  passed 
into  the  possession  of  the  United  States.  An  officer  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  James  McDougall,  at  present  a  chief 
factor  of  the  Company,  was  the  last  in  command  of  the  Com- 
pany posts  in  Alaska,  and  performed  the  duty  of  withdrawing 
them. 


APPENDIX    F. 
THE   CREE   SYLLABIC    CHARACTERS. 

I.    INITIALS  Oft  PRIMALS. 

V                         ,A                          >  <3 

a                         e                         6  a 

II.    SYLLABICS. 

V                         A                          >  < 

pa                       pe                       po  pa 

u                n                 )  c 

ta                       te                         to  ta 

n                 r                 J  i 

cha                     che                       cho  cha 

q                  P                   d  b 

ka                       ke                         ko  ka 

1                         T                           J  L 

ma                      me                       mo  ma 

T)  CT  -DO. 

na                       ne                        no  na 


se 


ya  ye  yd  ya 

HL    FINALS  OB  TERMINALS, 
c  =  m  ^  =  k  .  =  w 

}  =  n  I=P  $  =  r 

-  =  h  "a=  aspirate  o  =  ow 

*  =  Christ 

EXAMPLES  OF  WORD  FORMATION. 

LO-C  =  ma-ne-to  =  spirit. 

O-A  =  ne-pe  =  water. 

t>rr  =  o-me-me  =  the  pigeon. 

r^cnf  =  me-s-ta-te-m  =  horse  (big  dog). 

aA3  =  ne-pa-n  =  summer, 

q-cv^  =  ka-na-pa-k  =  a  snake. 
Kk  497 


44 


o 

H— I 

Q 


I 

M 

C 

1 

0> 

*J 

2 
a 
o 

+-» 

I 


M 


i-5 
ll 


fl 


II 


§1 
II 


o  1 

el 


If 


INDEX 


"  A  LA  claire  fontaine,"  306. 
Albemarle,  Duke  of,  9. 
"  Alouette,"   312. 
Alliance,  The  Grand,  56. 
Allumette,  307. 

American  Fur  Company,  329. 
Anderson,  A.  C.,  414. 
Arlington,  Earl  of,  9. 
Astor,  John  Jacob,  192. 

i  founded^^LgJk 
Assirdbbia,  Council  of,  354. 
Assiniboine  Indians,  87,  432. 

„          Wool  Company,  351. 

Athabasca,  First  Traders  of,  97. 

Lake  and  River,  383. 

BACK,   Sir  George,   317. 
Beaver  Club,  190. 
Beaver,  Ship,  200. 
Beaulieu,  Fra^ois,  127. 
Beltrami,  J.  C.  (Explorer),  330. 

Work  of,  331. 
Black,  Rev.  John,  Pioneer,  423. 

„     Judge,  442. 

„     Samuel,  Trader,  402. 
Blackfeet  Indians,  432. 
Blan  shard,  Governor,  414. 
Bois-brules  turbulence,  219. 
Boothia  Felix,  Discovery  of,  315. 
Boulton,  Major,  467. 
Bourbon,  Fort,  50,  52. 
Bourdon,  Jean,  49. 
Bourke,  Father,  417. 
Brandon  House,  112. 
Brymner,  Douglas,  Archivist,  86. 
Buffalo  Wool  Company,  350. 

„       hunting,  365. 
Bulger,   Governor,   348. 
Butler,  Capt.  W.  F.,  343. 
Button,  Sir  Thomas,  48. 

CADIETJX'S  lament,  308. 
Cadot,  J.  Baptiste,  91. 
Caldwell,  Major,  440. 


California,  Ship,  67. 

Calumet,  307. 

Campbell,  Robert,  393  et  seq. 

Cameron,  Duncan,  181-184,  219,  262. 
Murdoch,  Fur  Trader,  326. 

Canada  Company,  2. 

Canadian  Boat  Song,  305. 

Canoe  voyage  by  Gov.  Simpson,  273- 
275. 

Cart  and  cayuse,  361. 

Cart  trails,  362. 

Carver,  Jonathan,   193. 

Cass,  Lewis,  Explorer,  331. 
i    Cauchon,  Joseph,  Memo,  of,  447. 
j    Calvalcade,  The  Hunting,  366. 

Charter,  H.  B.  C.,  13  et  seq. 

Charters,  Royal,  12. 

Charles,  Fort,  11. 

Chilkats,  The,  394. 

Chimo,  Fort,  377. 

Chinook  jargon,  409. 

Chipewyan,  Fort,  124,  126,  384. 
Tribe,  432. 

Chipman,  C.  C.,  470. 

Christie,  Governor,  354. 

Christinos  (Kris),  5,  6. 

Christy,    Miller,    7. 

Churchill,  Lord,  Governor,  30. 
„      in  Tower,  31. 

Church  Societies  on  Red  River,  422. 

Cochrane,  Archdeacon,  299,  420. 

Colbert,  M.,  49. 

Colleton,  Sir  Peter,  9. 

Coltman,      W.      B.,      Commissioner, 
252-4. 

Columbia,  British,  of  to-day,  477. 

Colville,  Gov.  Eden,  423. 

Committee  of  1857,  446. 

Company,  The  Northern,  50. 

Conolly,  Trader,  400. 

Coppermine  River  discovered,  104. 

Councils   of  Traders,    271. 

Couture,  William,  49. 

Cox,  Ross,  200. 


499 


INDEX 


Craven,  Earl  of,  9. 

Cree  syllabic,  424. 

Cridge,  Bishop,  426. 

Crofton,   Col.,  439. 

Crosby  and  Evans,  Eevs.  426. 

Cumberland,  first  house  built,  97. 

Curry,  Thomas,  93. 

DAER,  Fort,  212,  225. 
Dallas,  Gov.  A.  J.,  449. 
Dawson,  S.  J.,  surveyor,  340. 

„       Road,  341. 
Dease  Lake,  393. 

„    and  Simpson,  Arctic  Explorers, 
318. 

Deed  PoUs,  Old  and  new,  452. 
D'lberville,  52,  53. 

„         Victory  of,  53. 
Demers,  Bishop,  426. 
De  Meurons,  239. 
Denonville,  Marquis  de,  47. 
De  Witt,  Dutch  Ambassador,  8. 
Dickson,  Robert,  Free  Trader,  327. 
Dionne,  Dr.  N.  E.,  38. 
Dividends,  Company,  24. 
Dobbs,  Arthur,  62. 
Dobbs,   Galley,    67. 
Douglas,  Fort,  224,  226. 

Sir  James,  397. 

David,  botanist,  403. 
Draper,   Chief  Justice,  446. 
Duluth,   Greysolon,   79. 
Duncan  of  Metlakahtla,  426. 

Eaglet,  Ship,  10. 
Elgin,  Lord,  429. 
Ellice,  Hon.  Edward,  268. 
Ellis,  Henry,  68. 
Enterprise,  Fort,  388. 
Ermatinger,  Miss,  309. 

Family,  309,  310. 

Traders,  410. 
„  Francis,  411. 

Edward,    410,    454. 
Eskimos,    433. 
Evans,  Rev.  James,  424. 

FALCON,  Pierre,  235. 

(Song  of  Triumph),   235. 

Translation,  236. 

Sketch  of,  266. 
Faribault,  J.  B.,  326. 
Fidler,  Peter,  Sketch  of,  282. 

„     Will  of,  284. 

Finlay,  John,  Journal  of,  291-294. 
Finlay,  James,  93. 
Finlayson,  Gov.  D.,  355. 
„        Roderick,  408. 


Fleming  and  Grant,   Expedition   of, 

344. 

Flax  and  Hemp  Co.,  351. 
Flood,  Red  River,  351. 
Fort  William  built,  155. 

„          „       description    of,    155    et 
seq.,  189. 

Franchere,  Gabriel,  155,  201. 
Franklin,  Sir  John,  314. 

„  „     Search  for,  320. 

„  by  Dr.  Rae, 
321. 
Franklin,   Sir  John,   Search  for,   by 

Capt.  McCliatock,  322. 
Fraser,  Simon,  142  et  seq. 
French  half-breeds'  petition,  440. 

turbulent,      1869, 
458. 
French  priests  interfere,  460. 

GARRY,  Fort,  355. 

„        camping-ground,  366. 

„          „       Lower,  353. 
Gibraltar,  Fort,  189. 

„  „   destroyed,  226. 

Gillam,  Capt.  Zachariah,  10. 
Gold  discovery  in  B.C.,  415. 
Gonor,  Father,  83. 
Good  Hope,  Fort,  390. 
Governors,  Recent,  472. 
Graham,  Andrew,  Journal  of,  108. 
Grand  Portage,  95. 
Grant,  Cuthbert,  Senr.,  120. 

„  „       Junr.,  236. 

„    P.  (Historiographer),  184-7. 
Gravesend,    20. 

Gregory,  McLeod  and  Co.,  116. 
Groseilliers     (Medard     Chouart),     3, 

33. 
Groseilliers,  J.  Baptiste,  37. 

HALF-BREEDS  dissatisfied,  436. 

Halifax,   Lord,   71. 

Hargrave,   Jas.,   Letters  of  Traders, 

294. 

Hargrave,   Joseph,   Work  of,   294. 
Harmon,  Daniel,  165-7. 
Hayes,  Sir  James,  36. 
Head,    Gov.    Edmund,   452. 
Hearne,  Samuel,  99  et  seq.,  383. 
Hector,  Dr.  James,  337. 
Henry,  Alex.,  Senr.,  93. 

„      Jr.,  169-173. 
Hills,  Bishop,  426. 
Hind,  H.  Y.,  explorer,  340. 
Hudson,    Henry,    48. 
Hudson    Bay,    Early    Governors   on, 

22. 


INDEX 


Hudson  Bay,  Early  Forts,  108. 

Bleak  shore  of,  373. 
House,  20. 
Co.  Ships,  20. 
„  Claims  of,  54. 
„  Stores,  470. 
Hunt,  William,  Astorian,  198. 
Hunting  regulations,  368. 

INDIAN  chiefs  on  Red  River,  248. 
Indians  and  H.  B.  C.,  429. 

„       in  debt,  429. 

„       of  B.  C.,  433. 

loyal  to  Co.,  434. 
Isbister,  A.  K.,  437  et  seq. 

JAMES,  Capt.,  48. 

Jamieson,  Rev.  Robert,  427. 

Johnson,  Judge,  442. 

Johnston,   John,   Trader   (Sault  Ste. 

Marie),  179-181,  300. 
Johnston,  Miss,  181. 
Jon  -A.  Rev.  David,  300,  420. 

KAMINISTIQUIA,  94,  311. 

Kamloops  rising,  403. 

Keating,  W.  H.,  Expedition  of,  328. 

Keel  and  canoe,  359. 

Keith,  George,  Tales  of,  160. 

Kelsey,  Henry,  73. 

Kennedy  and  Bellot,  Expedition  of, 

321. 

Keveny,  Owen  (Murdered),  254. 
King,  Dr.   Richard,  318. 
"  King's  Domains,"  379. 

Posts,"  379. 
Kirke,  Sir  John,  20. 

LABRADOR,  McLean  on,  376. 

Lachine,  302. 

La  France,  Joseph,  67. 

Lefroy,  Lieut.   (Sir  Henry),  335. 

„       (Expedition),  335. 
Leith's  bequest,  421. 
Le  Moyne,  The  Brothers,  51. 
Lescarbot,  48. 
Lestane,  The  dastard,  466. 
Lewis  and  Clark,  Expedition  of,  324. 
Liard,  River,  392. 
Lincolnshire  farmers,  355. 
Locust   visitation,    346. 
Long,    Stephen    H.,    Expedition    of, 
328. 

McCALLUM,  Rev.  John,  420. 
Macdonell,  Miles,  207. 

„  Estimate  of,  260. 


!    Macdonell,    Alexander    (Grasshopper 

Governor),  346. 

I    McDonald  of  Garth  (autobiography), 
161. 

on   the  Pacific,    163. 
„       Grand,  167. 
McDonnell,  John,  Diary,   169. 
McDougall,  Duncan,    Astorian,    194. 
Hon.  William,  455,  461. 
McGillies,   Hugh,   Free  Trader,   327. 
Machray,    Archbishop,    421. 
Mackay,  Alexander,  127,  196. 
McKay,  Trader,  311. 
Mackenzie,    Alexander,    116,    123    et 

seq. 
Mackenzie,    Alexander,    1st    Voyage, 

Mackenzie,   Alexander,   2nd  Voyage, 
127  et  seq. 

Mackenzie,  Alexander,  Book  of,  130. 

Mackenzie,    Ri\ 

McKenzie,  Roderick,  158. 

McKenzie,  James,  Journals,  163,  379. 

McKenzie,  Charles  (Journey  to  Man- 
dans),  174. 

McKenzie,    Governor,    Donald,    350. 

McLeod,  Alex.  Norman,  116. 

John,  Diary  of,  221,  285. 

McLean,  John,  On  Labrador,  377. 

McLoughlin,  Chief  Factor,  400. 
—'         ,«s^     Young  (murdered),  406. 

McTavish,"  Simon,  115,  121. 

McTavish,  Governor  William,  449. 

„  „  (sick  and  weak),  458. 

Magnetic  Pole,  Discovery  of,  315. 

„      and  Capt.  Kennedy, 
317. 

Magnet  Survey  by  Lefroy,  335. 

Malhiot,  Frangois  V.,  177-179. 

Mandans,  98,  325. 

Manitoba   College,   424. 

Margry,    Pierre,    81. 

Maurepas,  River,  85. 

Metis,  442. 

Michilimackinac,  81. 

Middleton,  Capt.  C.,  64  et  seq. 

Milton  and  Cheadle,  Explorations  by. 
342. 

Mingan,  379. 

Missouri  Company,  193. 

Model  Farms,  351. 

Montague,  8. 

Moravians  in  Labrador,  380. 

Mulgrave,  Lord,  313. 

Muskegons  (Crees),  431. 

NELSON,  Port,  52. 
Nemisco,  River,  10. 


502 


INDEX 


Nepigon,  79. 

New  England  Company,  2. 
Nicola's  Eloquence,  403. 
Nisbet,  Rev.  James,  424. 
Nonsuch  Ketch,  10. 
North- West  Company  formed,  115. 
„  „         officers,  152. 

Nor'-Westers  unite,  188-191. 
North-West  Passage  sought   (early), 

63. 

North- West  Passage   by  Land,   343. 
Norman,  Fort,  390. 
Norton,  Moses,  111. 
Noue,  De  la,  80. 

OCHAGACH,      82. 

Oldmixon,   4. 

Oppression   of  Judge   Thorn,   436. 

Orkneymen,  Early,  97. 

„         vs.    French    Canadians, 
271. 

Ottawa,  302. 
Ouinipegon,  Lake,  88. 

PALAEOCRYSTIC  sea,  320. 
Pacific  Fur  Company,   193. 
Palliser,  Capt.  J.,  337. 
Parnbrun's  story,  229-30. 
Pangman,  Peter,  116,  286,  287. 
Parker,   Gilbert,  Novelist,  38. 
Peace    River,    386. 
Peel's  River  Post,  391. 
Pelly,  Governor,  350. 

„    Gov.  J.  H.,  438. 
Perouse  on  Hudson  Bay,  106. 
Pigeon  River,  95. 

Pike,   Zebulon  M.,   Explorer,   326. 
Plain  hunters,  364. 
Pond,  Peter,  97,   116,   119,  125. 
Portaging,  307. 
Portman,  Mr.,  20. 
Posts  on  Pacific,  416. 
Potherie,  De  la,  4. 
Prince  Society,  39. 
Prince  of  Wales  Fort  taken,  106. 
Pritchard,  John  (lost),  172-174. 

Story  of,  230. 
„          Estimate  of,  265. 
"  Pro  pelle  cutem,"  19. 
Provencher,   Bishop,    288,   296,    299, 

418. 

Providence,    Fort,    388. 
Prudhomme,  Judge,  38. 

QUESNEL,  JULES  MAURICE,  143. 
RADISSON,  PIERRE  ESPRIT,  3,  33  et 


Rae,  Dr.  John,  Explorer,  321. 
Red  River  Plague,  356. 

Rebellion,  460. 
Reine,  de  la,  Fort,  88. 
Reinhart,  Charles,  prisoner,  254. 
Reliance,  Fort,  389. 
Renville,  Joseph,  guide,  328. 
Resolution,  Fort,  388. 
Riel,  Elder,  441. 

„    Younger,  rebellion,   461. 
Rigolette,  381 

Robertson,  Colin,  226,   228. 
Roberval,  Sieur  de,  48. 
Robinson,  Sir  John,  9. 
Robson,  Joseph,  75. 
Roches  Percees,  338. 
Rocky  Mt.  Passes,  339. 
Rolling  Ball,  The,  303. 
Ross,  Captain  John,  315. 

„     Alexander,  353. 
Rouge,  Fort,  88. 
Rupert,  Prince,  8. 

„  „        Sketch  of,  27  et  seq. 

„          „       River,  10. 
Ryswick,  56  et  seq. 

Treaty,  Terms  of,  57. 

STE.  ANNE'S,  304. 
St.  Charles,  Fort,  massacre,  86. 
St.  James,  Fort,  outbreak,  398. 
St.  John's  College,  421. 
St.  Pierre,  Legardeur  de,  89. 
Sargeant,     Governor,    52. 
Saskatchewan  River  discovered,   89. 
Saulteaux  Indians,  431. 
Sault  Ste.  Marie,  310. 
Sayer   "  rising,"   441. 
Schoolcraft,  H.  R.,  Explorer,  332. 
„  „         discovers     Lake 

Itasca,    333. 

Schultz,  Dr.,  rescued,  444. 
Scoresby,  Capt.  W.,  313. 
Scott,  Thomas,  executed,  467. 
Selkirk,  Earl  of,  202. 

purchases        H.B.C. 

stock,  206. 

Selkirk,  Earl  of,  on  Emigration,  205. 
„  ,,         Colony     to      Prince 

Edward  Island,  205. 
Selkirk,     Earl    of,    colony    to    Red 

River,  208-213. 
Selkirk,  Earl  of,  opposition  to,  214. 

Rescue  by,  237-242. 
„  „         Estimate  of,  259. 

Semple,  Governor,  225  et  seq. 
Shagganappe,  362. 
Shelburne,  Lord,  15,  323. 
Sherbrooke,  Gov.  Gen.,  242,  251. 


INDEX 


503 


Sieveright,  Trader,  300. 

Simpson,    Gov.    G.,    269,    297,    385, 

410,  412. 

Simpson,  Gov.  G.,  knighted,  276. 
„  „  Voyage  round  the 

world,  277. 
Simpson,  Lady,  280. 
Fort,  389. 
„  „     on  Pacific,  408. 

Thos.,  death  of,  320. 
Sinclair,  a  leader,  436. 
Slave  Lake,  387. 
Sledge  and  packet,  357. 
Smith,  Donald  A.,  381,  464. 

„      William  Robert,  clerk,  444. 
South- West  Fur  Company,   193. 
Staines,  Rev.  Robert,  425. 
Stannard,  Captain,  10. 
Status,  present,  of  Co.,  473. 
Stewart,  Jas.,  rescued,  443. 
Stikine  River,  393. 
Strathcona    and    Mt.    Royal,    Lord, 

381,  475. 

Stuart,  John,  142. 
Sturgeon  Lake,  Fort,  built,  96. 
Sutherland  James,   catechist,   418. 
Swiss  settlers,  347. 

depart,  348. 

TACHE,  Archbishop,  419,  468. 
Tallow  Company,  351. 
Terms  of  Company's  Transfer,   455. 
Thorn,  Recorder  Adam,  355. 
Thompson,  David,  Astronomer,  132  et 

seq. 

Thorn,   Captain,    195. 
Tod,  John,  Trader,  411. 
Tonquin,  Ship,   195. 
Trade  standards,  Early,  22. 
Transcontinental     journeys      (early), 

146. 
Trials',  North- West,   255,  256. 


Troyes,  Chevalier  de,  50. 
Turner,  Astronomer,  126. 

UMFREVILLE,  Edw.,  106,  113. 

Ungava,  377. 

Utrecht,  Treaty  of,  58. 

VANCOUVER,  Fort,  397. 

„  Given  up,  413. 

„  Island,    Lease    of,    414. 

,,  Colonization,  415. 

City,    478. 

Verendrye,  82  et  seq. 
Victoria,   Fort,   founded,   406. 
Vyner,  Sir  Robert,  9. 

WARE,  Chief  Trader,  413. 
Watkin,  E.  W.,  Scheme  of,  451. 
Wedderburn,  Fort,  384. 
Wendigo,  The,  308. 
Wentzel,  W.  F.,  Story  of,  289. 

Opinions  of,  291. 
West,  Rev.  John,  420. 
Western  Sea,  79. 

William  and  Ann,  Wreck  of,  402. 
William  III.,  Address  to,  25. 

,,  Great  dividend  paid,  25. 

Winnipeg,  City  of,  476. 
Wolseley,   Col.,   468. 
Woods,   Lake  of,  84. 

X  Y  COMPANY,  147  et  seq. 

Officers,  152. 

YORK,  Duke  of,  9. 

Made  Governor,v29. 
,,       Factory,  Description  of,  374. 
Young,  Sir  William,  36. 
Yukon,  Fort,  391. 

Upper,  Discovery  of,  393. 

ZINZENDORF,  Count,  380. 


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